Dream Series
by AngeloftheMorning1978
Summary: WARNING! EROTICA! My Dream series has caused some confusion as to the order of it. I have put my entire Dream series in one large story. I hope that this will help my readers enjoy it more. I Promise MORE Erotica, MORE charcter deffintion. Pls R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**FINAL REPOST! I promise! **

** I wanted to re-do my Dream Series. It is a series of I think 9 stories. They are a mess cuz when I started writing, I had NO CLUE what I was doing. **

** Also I was a little afraid to do Erotica. Needless to say, I'm not afraid now. If you don't believe me, check out my other work. It's riddled with the nasty!**

** So, I've collected all of my 'Dream Series' together to make them work as one BIG story. **

** I have also made some changes in the names of my characters. I've added more Erotica (AKA), A&A lovin'. I know how everyone HATES my Erotica, but oh well. LOL!**

** Also added some lovin' for Cobb and Eames. Well, maybe not Cobb and Eames, but Cobb and a lady friend and Eames and a lady friend. LOL. Come on guys, that was funny! **

** I love that you guys read my stuff. I hope you enjoy this more polished version. Please review and tell me what you like so I can give you what you like. **

Never Just a Dream

_(Takes Place after the Fisher Job)_

"_And if tonight my soul may find her peace in sleep, _

_and sink into good oblivion."_

_D.H. Lawrence_

~The mission had ended well. Cobb had gone home to his family. There was a nice feeling of a well accomplished mission, and sense of comradeship that only happens when everyone involved, has played their part well, and succeeded.

Arthur had a rare smile on his face as he and the Architect watch Cobb leave the Team. They watched indifferently as Fischer was picked up by a privet driver.

Eames explained to Saito the inception appeared to have taken. That Fischer seemed to have made peace with himself and wanted to be 'his own man'. Saito was impressed.

~The Tourist had insisted on treating the remainder of the Team to drinks and dinner in an upscale hotel. He even paid for the hotel rooms for each member of the Team.

Like all Japanese business men, he took his R&R_ very _seriously. He provided generous amounts of champagne and interesting talk of dream levels. Hours passed, daylight waned away. Yuseff became drunk as Saito, Arthur and Eames helped them to their own rooms in the hotel.

~ "I think Saito wants to be an Extractor when he grows up." Eames laughed as they left the Businessman snoring. Ariadne gave a tired smile but Arthur seemed more serious.

"We have to disappear in the morning." He said softly. Not really speaking to anyone.

Eames grumbled to himself about catching a red eye in a hour. Arthur looked at Ariadne as she fumbled clumsily with her room's key card.

"Where are you disappearing to?" She asked.

He looked down at his shoes.

"Best not to tell you. It would be safer, after a job like this, if a Team separates." He explained "No contact, at least not for a while."

Ariadne nodded sadly.

"I'll be going back to Paris in the morning." She said trying to make her voice bright. "I have dual citizenship in France and The States. I won't use the same passport I used for the flight in."

Arthur nodded.  
>"Smart." He said. They stood in the empty hallway, as a heavy silence fell on them.<p>

"So listen, I wanted to talk to you about what happened in the dream." He said. Very serious and almost cold. She laughed.

"I'm not mad at you for stealing a kiss. I live in France you know." She said with a smile.

Arthur seemed surprised.  
>"Um... no I wasn't talking about that." he said scratching behind his head. "I wanted to talk to you about the risk you took by going into Limbo with Cobb. It was very dangerous. There was always the chance Eames couldn't line up the kick. The van was in free fall, I had to simulate a fall in the elevator to give you your own kick. There was a real chance I wouldn't be able to bring you back out." He gave her a stern look.<p>

She sighed softly and felt slightly embarrassed.  
>"No. I trusted Eames to do what needed to be done." She said honestly. "I trusted you." He looked up at her then. Meeting her eyes fully.<p>

"I wanted you to know that my yelling at Cobb... that it had nothing at all to do with you." He said with difficulty. "You did _everything_ right in the dream. My... anger, wasn't meant for you to hear. I'm sorry you had to see it."

"I know." She breathed. Feeling the effects of the champagne. "Cobb threw us all a curve ball." She finally unlocked the door to her hotel room.

Arthur's stance seemed to relax.

"You know if you _are_ mad at me for stealing a kiss, I can always give it back to you." He teased leaning in closer with a smile. Ariadne blushed and smiled back as she stepped into her room.  
>"Good night, Arthur." She whispered playfully and she closed the door on him.<p>

~ She locked it quickly, suddenly overcome by a school girl giddiness that was either the champagne, the mission or the Point Man outside her door. She stood on tip toe and looked out her room's peep hole. Arthur was still there, his lean body, hanging on her door frame.

For a thrilling moment she wondered if he would barge in. He was much stronger then he looked. As the Point Man, he took the most dangerous position of anyone in the Team. If he barged in, could she stop him? Ariadne smiled to herself as she spied on him through the peep hole. Taking in his well tailored suit, his pleasing, careful manners.

Remembering the dream, in the Hotel.

After they had left the lobby, he said nothing of the playful kiss he had tricked out of her. She couldn't stop the blush from coming on her face as she watched him prepare the charges. She was suddenly seeing him in a new light. Not as her teacher or Team member, but something more. Suddenly she was seeing him with new eyes. His graceful movements, his intelligence. She suddenly noticed his large hands and kind eyes and gentle voice he only used with her.  
>When Fischer's projection of Browning appeared at door, Arthur took him down easily. The Architect had gasped softly at the sight of Point Man holding a gun over the older man. She had to keep telling herself that it was just a projection of Browning. Nothing more.<p>

She had been impressed with Arthur's tactical skills. She was not the kind of woman who found a physical man terribly attractive, but Arthur was radically different then she thought. He endlessly surprised her. His sharp intelligence, his natural grace and patience, none of these things prepared her for the purely militant man he turned into in the Dream.

She did not go on this mission with Cobb looking for anything like Arthur. She had no need or time for romance. The Point Man, as well as the rest of the Team, treated her skills with value. They explained things to the new dreamer without being condescending. She was always made to feel she brought something important to all of them. It was a wonderful feeling and it made her want to do her best work for them.

In her hotel room now, she watched him smile to himself and walk away. For a moment, she was suddenly sad.

He had wanted to kiss her again. She was sure of that. She had wanted him to come in. She turned around to look at her lonely hotel room. She would not be the one to run after him like some love crazed girl. She may live in France, but she still had old fashioned beliefs on love.

~ That night, had been a difficult one. The mission on the plane had thrown her sleep cycle off and she found it difficult to relax her mind enough to drift off.

She took deep breaths in and out. Thinking about how his lips had felt on hers. She had foolishly believed that they could distract the projections this way. A smile coming to her face at the memory, she couldn't help it.

That kiss, had been so nice. His lips were warm and tender. His breath sweet. He was unobtrusive, yet took what he wanted.

She felt herself blushed hard at the idea of Arthur in bed with her. Only to realize that no one would know her inner thoughts. She gave into a happy fantasy about the Point Man. One where he barged into her room. His hands to her face, bringing her mouth to his. His forcefulness, his intensity, rolling her onto her bed.

His tall body over hers. His breath and kisses pulling down her night clothes. His lips touching her nipples.

She realized her hands were rubbing herself. Her hips grinding to an imagined rhythm the Point Man would give her. She could almost feel him next to her. She imagined her hands were his hands, roaming along her breasts, her belly. Coming to rest between her legs. She didn't have to imagine he would be a wonderful lover. She _knew_ he would be.

She rubbed herself harder as she imagined his fervent kisses on her neck, her lips. His hands in her hair as he was thrusting into her.

She climaxed suddenly. Her hands losing control. Imagining the Point Man ruthlessly taking her. She felt her own wetness with a sense of embarrassment.

It had been a good fantasy.

She slept deeply until morning.

~Returning to Paris was not pleasant. She flew coach under her French passport. Cobb had called her that morning from a disposable cell phone and said her payment would be wired to her account that day. He seemed more stable. Less agitated. Perhaps being in limbo with Mal had given him peace.

Saito and Yuseff were already gone when she checked out and Arthur was nowhere to be seen. Cobb had made it very clear to her not to try and contact any member of the Team until one of them, Arthur or himself, would contact her. He had ended their brief conversation by telling her that she was the most talented architect he has ever worked with and that if she wanted more work in dream extraction, she need only ask.

The compliment made her very happy. She had felt over the past weeks that her intellect and imagination had been stretched and there were times she felt she could barely keep up with the Team intellectually. It was just so much to take in. But Arthur had been her guide on this new adventure. A kind and patient one who never grew tired of her endless curiosity.

~ Paris now seemed different to her. She had chosen to study architecture here because there were no other buildings like the ones in Paris. The wide streets, the graceful lines and colors were always an inspiration to her. Suddenly, the City of Lights was no longer so engrossing to her.

What can Paris hold compared to the worlds she had created and destroyed in the dream world?

Her apartment was in a very Persian part of the city. Small and efficient but suitable for a student. Her Grandfather had left it to her along with a large trust fund that enabled her to study anywhere that would have her, in any country she cared to study in. Her parents had died when she was young and she was raised by the kindly but brilliant old man who had passed away when she was 19.

Since his death, she had studied all kinds of subjects all over the world. She was never satisfied by any major. She studied art, history, literature and now architecture. She often laughed at herself for being a professional student. She had no other family to nag her about getting married and having children. Her life was alone and all her own.

Perhaps that was why she so wanted to help Cobb get back to his own young children. No child should feel the loneliness she always felt. Miles had reminded her so much of her Grandfather. He was still in America with Cobb and wouldn't return till next semester.

Paris seemed empty now. The people felt like nothing more then projections.

~Arthur was in New York, thinking of a good reason to make a quick flight to Paris. He had wanted to brake down Ariadne's door that last night. He wondered if she would scream at him. Become angry. Or if she would allow him to take her. To be almost savage with her and ungentlemanly.

It was in his nature to be bold. He succeeded in everything he did by being his way. It was this unafraid nature that had made him kiss her. He refused to be shy about it afterward. Ariadne hadn't seemed angry about it. More relaxed even. She had said nothing about it after. Nothing like a silly girl would have. She had stayed focused on the mission. It made him like her all the more.

He had a need in him that night in the hotel. He always felt slightly giddy after a successful mission. Feelings of being powerful, left over from the dream. Power he enjoyed transferring over to sex. Normally, he would rent a dirty movie and attend his own needs in privet. But that night, he wanted to focus his attentions on the pretty Architect.

He wanted to kiss her. Wanted to be naked with her. Wanted to see if her breasts were as pert as he suspected them to be. To see if her nipples would stand erect at his abusive sucking.

He shut his eye tightly. Ashamed to think of a Team member like that. The kiss in the dream had been a harmless flirtation. Nothing more.

It was raining in New York. Everything was wet and gray. The people moved in nice predictable lines as he watched them from his window. His large well appointed Manhattan apartment was modern and elegant.

Arthur's taste.

It had been his childhood home and with his parents both dead and gone, it was now his only home. He had spent his entire youth in very exclusive boarding schools all over the world. He only came home during the brief winter breaks and even then his father wasn't there.

His beautiful Mother had died when he was still very young. He had felt her absence profoundly. After her death, his world became cold. He never knew the attention Cobb lavished on his children, and was envious.

The boarding school his Father sent him to had been good for him. He found comfort in the life he had there. He dressed well, simply because he had always been expected to dress well. It was a habit for him. He excelled in school because he found the work easy.

After college, he joined the military where he learned about dream sharing. The military and it's training appealed to his careful, meticulous nature. He was a born perfectionist. He expected the best from himself and others around him. He had very little patience for others incompetence and _always_ let them know it.

But Ariadne had been different. Nothing like the silly girl he was afraid she would be. She was smart and brave. She stood up to Cobb when lesser mortals trembled. He liked to teach her about the dream world. She asked the _right_ kind of questions. She wanted to understand and learn about the nature of dreams, not for the money but for the thrill of the new worlds she made.

When he had found out about the train crossing in the dream he would have snapped at a male architect. But his manners and his liking her had only made him ask instead. After she explained about going into Limbo with Cobb, he had been angry. The elevator drop had worked as a kick to pull them out, but it was a close thing.

He downed the last of his drink and picked up his cell phone. He would take a flight to Paris. Let Cobb say what he would. Arthur had a bad feeling in his bones, he needed to go check on the Architect.

~ As Arthur was looking out his window in New York, the Architect was getting ready for bed. She had spent that Sunday in the flower market and couldn't resist putting fresh flowers all around her little room. It brightened up her blue toile wallpaper that was _'oh so Paris_' with shots of red, pink, yellow and green. It made her room seem more dream like. She couldn't help but wonder if Arthur would like it.

A blush crept to her face at her own foolishness. Arthur was God only knew where. He would most likely never see her little apartment.

Still, she entertained herself with thoughts of him.

She shaved her legs for him. Put lavender body oil on her skin for him. Washed her hair and styled it for him. Dressed in a sexy night gown all with him in mind.

In her dreams alone, he would come to her.

As the city glowed around her, she quickly fell asleep.

_ **Bang.**_

A loud noise jerked her from sleep better then any kick she had felt before. Ariadne was wide awake as gruff noises and light flooded her room. She was too shocked to even scream as the men, dressed in black and with there faces covered, were on her.

One had ripped the phone from the wall and threw it on the floor. She had made a feeble attempt to put space between them and her, but her tiny apartment granted her no room to evade them.

One of them pulled her out of bed by her hair and she had been to shocked and afraid to scream out.

The other had hit her with something. A vase her new flowers were in. She felt water on her face and saw flowers falling as she tried to stay awake. The rest was only black.


	2. Chapter 2

Down the Rabbit Hole

"_I am not asleep... but that dose not mean I am awake."_

_Unknown_

~ It was mid day by the time the Point Man arrived in Paris. He briefly thought about bringing her flowers. Perhaps that was to forward. He was just here to check on her after all.

He was only one member of the Team checking on another member of the Team. Completely normal.

He knew her building from the time he spent teaching her the Dreams. He had insisted on getting a cab for her in those early days. She stayed at the warehouse late and he was reluctant to let her walk home. He would ride with her, saying that the streets of Paris were dangerous. Even going with her to her building and making certain she was safe inside before telling the driver to take him back.

He had only done this only a few times before she told him curtly that she had been living in Paris alone for two years and didn't need a chaperone. She had seemed almost angry. He could tell then, that she expected to be treated like an equal member of the Team. Nothing less would do.

Still, he tailed her from a safe distance as she walked home.

Arthur smiled at that memory. Watching her from afar. Now, he had spent the day outside her building looking over news stands and pretending to enjoy a coffee in the quaint little cafe. Her neighborhood was lovely. Quite and _very_ trendy. It was not swept up by the modern world. It was like a Paris that had existed decades before. A special and secret place. He waited and watched for her to come home.

He was ever patient.

Time passed.

The time when she should have been home from the college came and went. He wondered if she was out with friends. Perhaps on a date. He pushed that thought out of his head. She never said anything about a boyfriend. Her time had belonged to the Team and the mission. A boyfriend would never have allowed that. Still, the thought nagged at him.

The locals had come out in the cool spring air, and still no Ariadne. They were talking in their fast clipped French accents that Arthur could barely understand. He was never good at foreign languages, despite his heavily stamped passport. It was in trying to shut out their chatter that he understood a few words.

"The American girl."

"The student?"

"Kidnapped?"

"Last night."

"So awful!"

"Police.

"No one knows."

The Point Man stood up. Silently and with a purpose, he walked to her building.

It was unlocked because of all the passing of the residents inside and he quickly walked the halls of her building like he lived there. No one stopped him and he wondered which room was hers. An older woman was sitting in the lobby. Using _very_ bad French he asked her.

"Police. Quelle piece a et e l'womans American?"

The kindly lady looked surprised. She nodded holding her heavily ringed hand over her ample bust.

"Salle 26" She said looking after the Point Man as he bounded up the stairs. Arthur didn't have a weapon on him but his face betrayed a fierceness that no one would trifle with.

Room 26's door was opened like a wound. The door was broken off it's frame and left that way. Only police tape covered the doorway. Ariadne's privet home was left exposed. Arthur found this somewhat offensive. As if she was violated, for all her neighbors to see. Fresh flowers and broken glass covered the floor.

"Sir! Quelle sont vos faire?" Came the voice of the police man leave an adjoining apartment. Arthur turned his hard face on the small man.

"Ou est la femme Americaine?" The Police man's shoulders collapsed and he said in perfect English.

"Sir, are you a relative?"

Arthur nodded.

"Her boyfriend. What happened? Is she in the hospital?" he hoped.

"Let us step inside, away from the gossipers eh?" The congenial little man guided Arthur into Ariadne's apartment and spoke quietly.

"Sir, we believe it happened sometime during the night. The neighbors heard a noise and called the police. When we came, the Lady was already gone. Her suite, was as you find it now. I ask you, when was the last you heard from the Lady?"

"Over a month ago." Arthur said as if on auto pilot.

He looked around the room. Her furniture was rustic and charming. The prints on the walls were fashionable and feminine. Her little kitchen was clean and small. Large bookcases house books on art, history and mythology.

A finely framed photograph of an older gentleman on the deck of a sailing yacht sat prominently on her nightstand.

Her room smelled of lavender.

There were small but colorful vases filled with fresh flowers. The broken phone was sprawled on the floor and now that he looked closer, there was blood on the floor.

Her blood, broken glass and crushed flowers polluted her floor.

This place felt tainted now. Violated. It would have been a lovely place for them to be together. But now... he had to leave.

"A month? Sir? You said you are her lover but you have not spoke with the lady in over a month? Sir, I apologize, I never got your name." the congenial little man said, growing suspicious.

Arthur turned around and left.

~Ariadne woke up to darkness. She was cold and her face hurt. Adrenaline surged into her body as she realized she didn't know where she was. Memories of those men in her room flooded back to her.

Invading her home. Their rough hands grabbing her hair. Falling flowers.

She came to realize slowly that her hands and feet were bound. She was laying on a bed of some kind. Her night clothes were still on her, and she felt the stiffness from being in the same position for too long. She couldn't help but whimper softly as fear overcame her.

She remembered all those stories of American girls being taken from foreign cities and sold as sex slaves. She was a young woman, alone in Paris with no relatives and only a few friends. All of whom, she had ignored during her work on the Fischer job.

"There now girl." Came a sordid voice, defiantly male. "Were just waiting for the order before were going to be done with you."

Ariadne finally found her voice, and her gusto.

"_Please_, you don't have to do this. You don't have to do anything." She realized the reason she couldn't see was because she was blindfolded. "Look, you can just let me go. I never saw anyone. Just drop me off someplace, I don't care." Silence was her only response. "_Listen to me_! Listen! I have money. I have money. I can give you money if someone paid you. Just don't do this, _please!_" She heard a door close and she knew instinctively that she was alone. Like a child afraid of monsters, she called out softly for a comfort.

"_Arthur._"

~"Arthur... Mate... all right... slow down." Eames was half asleep. As per usual, a lovely bare chested exotic woman lay next to him. She stirred as Eames took a call that would not wait.

"Ariadne." Arthur said again. Frustrated he had no one else to call. He thought about bringing Cobb in, but being back with his children was still too new. The Extractor had worked too long and hard to be back with his children only to be torn away from them now.

Besides Eames was the best at what he did. Which was a little bit of everything.

"Oh Arthur," Eames sighed. "I cant help you with your love life Mate."

"Eames!" Arthur shouted. "Ariadne is _gone_. Her apartment has been torn apart and she was taken. She's been gone for over 18 hours now." Arthur was feeling close to panic now. It was night and he had checked into a hotel 20 miles outside of Paris to avoid the police.

He was also feeling guilty for feeling tired. The time change and trip had taken it's toll on his body and he hated it for betraying him when she needed him.

Eames grasped quickly the horror of the situation.

"Who took her?" He asked taking everything in with a quite professionalism.

"I don't know!" Arthur said growing angry. Things were happening too slowly. Images of her body being dumped in a river, being cut with knives... worse. So many terrible things could be happening to her right now. He could do nothing to help her. Nothing to reach her.

"Arthur, I can't help you till you calm down. Now I need you to stop a moment and really concentrate. Is there a chance this could be Cobol?" Eames asked. Arthur said nothing as the seconds ticked by. "Cobol was after you and Cobb right? Saito fixed Cobb's charges for murder but not with Cobol, right?"

"Why...why go after her?" Arthur's voice sounded tiny and sad over the line.  
>"Someone must have seen her with us." Eames reasoned. "We were not discrete about our coming's and going's at the warehouse."<p>

Arthur said nothing.

His head hurt terribly and he couldn't take in any new information.

"Arthur? I want you to stay by the phone." Eames continued. "Get some sleep if you can, I'm leaving right now and making some calls. We will be in Paris before dinner." He stood up and went to his suitcase. "Your buying." he added.

Arthur nodded and remained silent. He was strangely comforted by Eames. As much as they bickered and teased each other, Eames was sure of himself and his world. It felt good to talk to someone who knew what needed to be done and who could do it.

"Arthur?" Eames said softly. "Talk to me mate."

"Yes." Arthur said sadly "I'll be here."

~From Japan, from America, from Brazil. Saito, Cobb and Eames converged on Paris. As painful as it was to leave his family Cobb never hesitated to jump on a plane. The Extractor had called Saito out of curiosity to see if he wanted to help or not.

Saito, attracted to the Team and their work, was quick to join. Using his privet airline, the Team descended on the hotel Arthur was staying at.

"Arthur." Cobb said as the Point Man met them in the lobby. The men exchanged no pleasantries as Arthur filled them in on what he found in Paris.

"It's a good thing you decided to take a trip to the city of _Love_ early" Eames said "If you had waited any longer, she may have been gone for good." Eames relaxed on a gaudy but trendy sofa that clashed horrifically with his off beat wardrobe.

"Dose the girl have any family?" Saito asked looking concerned.

A look the Team was not used to seeing on the businessman. Arthur shook his head.

"She had a Grandfather but she always spoke of him in the past tense. She never said anything about her parents. She was living in Paris alone." The Point Man told them. The hours of worry were written on his face and he looked more angry then tired.

"The Police will notify any family she has. Let's not worry about them." Cobb said logically. "Our working theory is that Cobol is involved. Were have no reason to think it's anyone else. We have a contact in Paris right now. They have an in with Cobol and their searching for any chatter about Ariadne."

"If it's correct that Cobol is involved," Saito said in his careful English. "Perhaps I can negotiate her release."

The Team looked at Saito in almost fearful surprise. The same look they gave him when he told them he bought an airline because it seemed_ neater_.

Saito shrugged.

"There is no logic in keeping a girl hostage when a settlement can be reached. If Cobol is seeking an expansion plan, I can give them one. If it will grant the girl's freedom, then my corporation can do without an it product for the quarter." Saito smiled softly as he excused himself and took his cell phone out. Cobb nodded in amusement.

"Hopefully he can move the mountains he thinks he can." The Extractor said.

He looked the Point Man over. His normally neat and ordered appearance was disheveled and made Arthur look younger and almost frail.

"Arthur, go get clean up." Cobb said quietly. "We need you to be together on this."

Arthur nodded dumbly as his Team went to work on bringing the Architect back.

~ Ariadne felt vague hunger and she wondered how long she had been in this all too real Limbo. Her eyes were still covered and she felt tired and worn out from her ordeal. The sensory deprivation left her without any real feeling of time. It could have been a day in this place, it could have been a week. She tried to keep calm.

She slept fitfully. Always dreaming little dreams of her kidnapping. Soon enough, she felt her ability to control her dreams. The lucid dreaming bending itself to her will. She dreamed wonderful things.

~She dreamed her and Arthur had spent the entire day in her neighborhood. Shopping at the local markets. Looking at the little shops and people watching. The sky was a bright blue as they stopped to by food to make dinner. They both were relaxed and happy. Arthur was out of his suit for once. He was dressed casual.

Arthur was in her apartment.

"Do you like the flowers?" She asked him. He was looking around her home as she put the canvas grocery bags on her small dinning room table. He gave her one of his rare smiles.

"Very nice." He said leaning over and kissing her neck.

His light wet breath on her, his lips warm. She felt herself blush hard. Arthur looked happy as she unpacked the groceries.

He looked over her tiny little apartment. It's blue wallpaper. Its tiny kitchen. He examined her bookcase that divided her rooms. He looked at all her books, carefully.

While he did this, she started to cook their dinner.

"We can always go out." He reminded her.

She shook her head.

"No, this is nice." She told him. He was by her side. Helping her to cook. They talked endlessly of literature and art. Arthur, showing those thoughtful manners of his and fine appreciation for the arts. His intelligence was so refined. They ate a light dinner. Just enough to give them energy to make love.

Arthur's large hands were around her face. His tall frame had to stoop down to meet her lips. She rested her hands on his hips as she stood on tip toe.

They were in bed then. As easily as a dream. His warm body felt heavy and perfect over hers. She could bear his weight all night.

She moved her hips in time with his. Felt his pulsing erection wanting entrance into her.

His movements, eliciting primal responses from her. Her own body moving into the real world.

~ She found herself awake suddenly. Her dream had melted away. Her lover, the memory of his body with hers, gone. It was enough to make her cry at the loss.

She was back in this place. This real and awful place. She felt the fear envelop her. What were these men going to do to her? Rape her? Kill her? She had no idea where she even was. How could Arthur ever find her?

She felt hours tick by.

She entertained herself with thoughts of Arthur and the Team mowing over her captures like so many disposable projections in a dream. It was a good fantasy. One which the Team made a graceful and unexplainable entrance. The Point Man, Forger and Extractor both made quick work of her captures.

Arthur would untie her, tell her he was taking her home. He gathered her small weary body in his strong arms and marched her proudly out of this place. She was safely wrapped in his body. He would tell her he would never let anyone hurt her. That of course he would come, nothing would stop him. These thoughts gave her comfort, but in the end, she was still alone, cold and terrified.

~ It seemed an age before she heard voices. They seemed to speak louder then normal. But that may just have been her time without any noise. Perhaps it had made sensitive to their voices and noise in general. They were voices she did not know. But they spoke names she knew all to well.

"Cobb made the call." A gruff male voice said in a horribly low class accent. "He said to kill the girl and throw her body in the river. Cobb doesn't want any lose ends from the Fischer job."

Ariadne found herself breathing hard. It made no sense. They had spoken to Cobb? Cobb told them to kill her? She struggled against her ropes as every nightmare became real. She heard a door open and footsteps and hands took hold of her. She tried to fight but was to weak.

Her ties were cut, she found herself crying out but the voice didn't sound at all like her own. It sounded like the voice of someone who had given up. Who was to weak to cry out.

And then, it was over.


	3. Chapter 3

Like so many projections...

"_For sleep, one needs endless depths of blackness to sink into; _

_daylight is to shallow, it will not cover one." _

_Anne Morrow Lindberg_

~She was on the cold and dirty floor. A body was over her and the end was just a whisper away. Suddenly there were noises. Bangs, yelling and smoke. The body on hers jumped away and there were screams.

Unharmed, but stunned Ariadne curled into a ball. Her basic instinct telling her to make her body as small as she could. The voices were American. The easy drawl of a group of people afraid of nothing. They were the voices of men. Authoritative and in control.

There was gun fire.

"Clear!" someone shouted. Then a voice came.

"Ariadne?" it said.

'It's happened.' she thought 'Arthur and the Team found me.'

"Arthur?" She croaked sadly. She felt sick and pitiful.

"Ariadne?" came the man's voice once more. The voice was not Arthur's or that of anyone she knew.

"Yes?" she said. Hands were on her again. Strong but gentle.

"Hold still. Were getting you out of here." The voice said. Her bindings was cut and her blindfold removed. A dull light blinded her.

Who these men were she didn't know, but the man with the voice picked her up easily as she shielded her eyes from the light. It came to her that she was in a basement of some kind.

"We have an ambulance waiting outside." The man whispered to her. He held her close to his body and she somehow knew there were others in the room. They moved swiftly, making room for them as she was carried outside.

~ The fresh air was bliss. Her face felt dirty as the wind hit it. She managed to open her eyes and see that it was night. There were police cars and an ambulance, all with hard flashing lights. The man carrying her put her down gently on a stretcher. As if she were a child he didn't want to wake up.

The light from the ambulance was to0 bright. But the paramedic was kind and soft with her hands as she assessed Ariadne's body. She spoke in an elegant French accent.

"Fermer votre Dove petit eil, votre coffre-frort maintenant."

Ariadne did as she was told and the kind woman started her IV. She could feel herself start to relax. She had a vague wish to ask about Arthur. The drugs put into her veins made her feel like that could wait. Soon she cared about nothing at all.

~Surely, it had been just a dream. Her kidnappers were taken out just like projections. She was safe. She felt comfortable in a clean bed. Her body felt good and there was noise outside that sounded like a hospital.

"Hello?" came a crisp American voice. It was a woman's voice. Ariadne opened her eyes to see she was in a privet hospital room. A middle aged woman, plump and pleasant looking was sitting next to her with a smile.

"Ariadne?" she asked. Her voice bright and concerned at the same time.

"Yes?" The Architect said softly. Her voice hurt and she winced in pain. The plump little American sensed her need and filled a cup with water and gave it to her. Ariadne drank it down quickly and the lady kept bringing her more water. She looked at the Architect as though she were a favorite child of hers.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk. My name is Agnes. I was brought in from the states to be your privet nurse."

Ariadne didn't say anything. She had hundreds of questions but her mind couldn't come together to pull one out. The nurse seemed untroubled by her patients lack of communication.

"My Dear, you were kidnapped from your home a week ago." The American Nurse said brushing back the Architect's hair. "A tactical unit, hired by a privet firm, got you out yesterday." The nurse leaned in close to the Architect and said gently, as if she were talking to a child who would not understand. "The hospital did an SAE and they said it was negative. They didn't hurt you like that."

Ariadne nodded and couldn't stop the tears coming out. The American nurse sat on the edge of the bed and held her close to her warm soft body. The Architect cried. For relief, for anger, for no reason at all.

The American Nurse held her and made soft comforting noises. After Ariadne cried herself out, the nurse gently brushed her hair. The action made the Architect feel like a little girl being comforted by a loving mother. She allowed the nurse to baby her, and asked no questions.

~"It's been two weeks!" Arthur fumed. Nothing made him content theses days. The Team had regrouped in Paris at the same warehouse they used to prepare for the Fischer inception.

Saito had passionately and valiantly argued with Cobol over Ariadne. He promised them the world, he threatened all out war. He said Cobol, was not willing to work with him.

Arthur could not accept this.

"I know." Eames said softly. He was willing to be the outlet of Arthur's rage.

Cobb had gone home to his children. He felt the absence of them sharply and could bare it no longer. He still worked from home and pulled in favors from everyone he could to find the Architect.

Miles had come back to Paris, acting as Ariadne's next of kin. The police had no leads. It was as if she vanished.

Arthur thought constantly of the Greek myths. Of Hades opening up the ground and swallowing Persephone up. A beautiful, innocent maiden gone. Like she never existed at all.

Eames looked at his feet with sad eyes.

"Arthur." He said softly. "We may need to prepare ourselves." Arthur stopped his pacing and glared at the Forger. "We need to prepare ourselves... that this may not end well." Eames looked up at his friend. For two weeks he had taken Arthur's abuse. Listened to rages not meant for him but listened to them none the less. Arthur shook his head.

"It's our fault." The Point Man said softly. "Its our fault this happened to her." He shouldered on his jacket for lack of anything better to do.

"When Cobb brought her in, he said 'don't worry, she wont go into the field with us'. When she came into the field, he said not to worry that she will be with him the whole time. He took her to limbo and she almost didn't make it out. Her life was fine until we showed up. _We_ put her in danger. COBAL or whoever, is trying to hurt _us_." Arthur concluded before slamming the door on his way out.

Outside, on the streets of Paris, Arthur hailed a cab. The action made him remember the few times he had chivalrously seen her home.

~It was raining, night had fallen. Cobb was still obtaining their chemist and Eames. He and the new Architect had started their work on building mazes and dreaming, together.

"Arthur, this isn't necessary." She said as the cab carefully maneuvered the crowded city streets. The heavens has opened up and a hard downpour was pounding over the city. The Architect and Point Man were safely tucked away from the foul weather inside the cab.

"I'm not letting you walk home in the rain." The Point Man said.

The driver informed them, in broken English, that the street to her neighborhood was blocked off. The Point Man told him it was alright. He could take the long way. The Architect hid a smile behind her hand.

"What?" Arthur asked a smile creeping over his own face. She shook her head.

"Your French... it's..." She smiled again. Her eyes bright. He had to laugh at himself.

"I know." He conceded.

They rode in silence for a while. They watched the city practically glitter as their lights reflected off the wet streets. It felt as if they were cut off from the outside world. Hidden away in the tiny euro cab.

The driver hit a pot hole and the cab bounced it's passengers rudely. Ariadne was almost thrown into Arthur's lap as a series of horns honked after them. The driver said something impolite in French and Arthur found he was holding her hand as she looked worriedly out the window.

The Architect relaxed somewhat as the cab took them to a less trafficked street. Arthur wondered if she still knew her hand was in his. She looked tried. She sighed as she leaned back in her seat.

Her head starting to rest on his shoulder.

Her head _was_ resting on his shoulder.

Her eyes were still looking hypnotized out the window. The driver was really taking the long way. She was asleep when the driver pulled up to her building. Arthur hated to rouse her. He would have gladly paid the fair for them to be driven all over Paris for the night. The moment had been so perfect.

"Were here." He whispered gently. She came awake then and looked around her, startled to find she had nodded off in the cab.

"Oh." She said sleepily.  
>"Do you want me to walk you up?" He asked preparing to leave the safety of the cab to escort her through the rain.<p>

"No." She laughed. "I've lived on my own for a long time." She said grabbing her purse and jacket. "I'll be fine. Thanks for the ride."

"It was on my way." He shrugged. He made the driver wait until he saw her unlock the front door to her building. She waved back at him. He still made the driver wait. When a light went on on the second floor, he relaxed.  
>"We can go now." he told the driver. Back in the opposite direction from where they started. He left the driver a generous tip for taking such a securitas route.~<p>

Now in the back of a cab alone. He thought of that memory. Could almost feel her next to him. Smell her gentle subtle perfume. He looked to his left. Almost expecting to see her. But naturally, she was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Lost

"_Question reality, _

_Especially if it contradicts the evidence of your hopes and dreams."_

_Robert Brault_

~"Was Saito the privet firm that got me out?" Ariadne asked the Nurse. The American Nurse looked confused.

"I don't know anyone by that name." She said softly.

She was helping Ariadne dress herself. After two days in the hospital, the Architect finally found herself able to put only _some_ thoughts together.

She still did not feel like herself. Her mind seemed slower somehow. Her usual temper felt stunted. The American Nurse had said it was the drugs she had to take for anxiety and they would pass. She still found it hard to hold thoughts in her mind.

They slipped away like a half remembered dream.

"Well, then who got my out of that basement?" the Architect asked

"A firm called Cobol engineering" came a familiar male voice.  
>"Sir!" said the American Nurse. "You have to leave! This is a privet room!" Ariadne turned to look at the tall lean man that came into her room.<p>

"I know you." She said slowly as he approached her. She was trying to remember. "You were the one who found me."

"Yes, me and my Team." The man with the voice said with an easy smile. "I was the one who carried you to the ambulance." He smiled.

The man with the voice had a nice face with dark hair and warm brown eyes. Handsome. Rugged.

Like all the men in her life recently, he was extremely well dressed and professional. He looked like the kind of man people couldn't help but like.

"My name is Jim." He said shaking her hand. "I'm really glad to see your looking better."

Ariadne shook his hand but found her brain was searching. She remembered Cobb and Arthur talking about Cobol. Always in conversations she was not meant to overhear. They spoke that name in reverent whispers. As if Cobol were a projection. One they feared no maze would hide them from.

"Cobol? How did Cobol find me?" She asked. Jim turned to the nurse

"Can we have a minute?" He asked. Agnes looked at Ariadne and the Architect nodded. Once they were alone The pair sat at a little table in her privet hospital room.

"I work with a very _special_ Team." Jim began. "It's hard to explain to someone that doesn't understand. But it will be easy, for _you_ to understand." He said.

Ariadne shook her head. Jim smiled.

"I work as an extractor." He said plainly. "I know you know what that is."

Ariadne looked out the window then. Not willing to meet Jim in the eye. The New Extractor shrugged and pulled out a briefcase. He shuffled some papers out.

"My work is primarily to catch _illegal_ extraction. Corporate espionage, political influence. All games that can turn the world the hell." He continued undeterred.

He looked up at the Architect and smiled but she continued to stare out the window. Cobb and Arthur had trained her for this. Trained her in what to say.

"I don't understand. I'm a student. I don't even work. I don't know anything about any corporations." She said softly.

Arthur had told her, gently, that if she were ever interrogated by anyone about extraction or inception to pretend to be stupid, with no interest in business or anything other then clothes and whatever else regular women cared about.

"Ariadne, I know Cobb and his Team trained you to build their dreams. Mr. Cobb was a very talented architect once. After he killed his wife he bounced around the world taking on odd jobs. He got together with this gentleman here." Jim pulled out a photograph and slid it over to her.

It was a candid shot of Arthur at an airport. The Point Man looked angry. A normal look for him when around the rest of the Team. Never around her.

"Arthur worked for the good guys once. He was in the military for years. It's how he learned about dream sharing. It became more profitable for him to engage in corporate espionage rather then serve his country." Jim said sadly.

"Ariadne, I know they trained you and used you. I also know that they were responsible for your kidnapping. That Cobb hired men to take you, to hold you and then he gave those men orders to kill you. He did this so you would be silenced. So that you wouldn't blackmail them, or their clients." Jim finished trying to catch her eye.

"I don't know anyone named Cobb. I'm sorry" She said softly. Jim nodded.

"I know they trained you to say this. To protect _them_." He pulled out another photograph.

This one was also candid. It showed her and Arthur walking out of the warehouse. It was taken when she had first started to work with the team. Arthur was holding the door of a cab for her. His eyes on her and a light smile. She remembered that day so well.

It had been raining outside. The streets of Paris were crowded and beautiful. The driver had taken the long way to reach her building. It had been so cozy in that cab, next to Arthur's warm body. She had even nodded off. She woke up feeling safe, with Arthur next to her.

"Did you think you were the only Architect Cobb enlisted? Did you think you were the first girl Arthur seduced?" Jim asked.

Suddenly Ariadne looked up at him. He was no longer handsome and kind. He had intruded on something sacred.

"He uses those careful manners of his to gain the trust of many girls." Jim said. Tormenting her.

"Leave." She said

"Dose he still dress nicely?" Jim asked. His voice catty.

"_Get out_!" Ariadne said sharply. Agnes was suddenly there.

"Sir, you need to leave now!" She said in a huff. Her tone was clear and in charge. Jim sighed and closed his briefcase.

"All right." He said. "I'll go. I'm sorry about what they put you through." He said sincerely. Jim was almost to the door when he turned around.

"I have to ask, did Cobb tell you he had children? That he had to do this 'job' to get back to his children?" Ariadne looked at him with a fire in her eyes. "Hmm." Jim mused "Cobb and his wife were childless."

"Leave sir." The American Nurse said.

Jim finally left and the Nurse was quick to close the door.

"Dear, you don't ever have to speak to that man again." Agnes said gently brushing back Ariadne's hair. The Architect looked at the photographs Jim had left behind.

'Can't be true.' she thought looking at Arthur. They way the Point Man was with her, Cobb's need to go home. They all felt real.

Eames's friendship seemed real to.

"I need a phone." She said softly. The American Nurse smiled at her with affection and said.

"Of course Dear."

~Arthur and Cobb didn't give her any contact numbers. Miles number got no pick up. Eames was invisible to the world of listed phone numbers. She even tried to call Japan. Saito knew who she was. But the process was confusing. Saito was not easy to reach, even with the right contacts.

The American Nurse was helpful. She wanted to find someone to help the Architect. Ariadne thought briefly about calling some classmates. But the nagging fear that she might put them in danger gave her pause. She also worried about how she would explain the situation to them. She had spent the past few months engrossed in the dream building, with almost no contact except with the Team.

At night, she dreamed.

The American Nurse told her it was the anxiety medication that caused them. They were dreams of Arthur. Of her and Arthur talking, laughing at the Forger's clothes. Eames accusing her of being in love with him. Of Ariadne laughing. Then Arthur would take a phone call and Cobb would be on the other end, telling the Point Man to kill the Architect.

She dreamed Arthur changed suddenly. That he used his strong body to choke her, to kill her. To have no pity over her. She dreamed of Eames saying,

'We'll need a new Architect, Mates.' She always woke up safe in the hospital bed with the American Nurse close by.

~The day of her release came by and with it a lawyer. He was a nice looking older man. He had flown in from New York.  
>"I'm your attorney." He said politely. "I'm here to represent you regarding your actions during the illegal drugging and dream manipulation of one, Robert Fischer."<p>

"I don't know what you mean." She said. She looked at the American Nurse for help. She was sitting at the table with her.

"Just listen to him, Dear. He is here to help you." She said tucking a stray lock of hair under her ear.

"Now, I don't want you to say anything to anyone but me, understand?" The Lawyer said plainly. "Truth is, the French Government have been collecting evidence on Mr. Cobb and his Team ever since they came to Paris. They bugged the warehouse, watched all of you. We know what happened. We have enough to put all of them in prison forever. When we catch them"

The Lawyer sighed softly and folded his hands together.

"It's over for them Ariadne. As soon as we catch them, and we will, they will be in prison for the rest of there lives. But the French government doesn't know what to do with you. You are just as liable as the rest of the team. But unlike them, you have never done dream extractions or inception. You have no criminal record, and we think we can get a pardon for you if..." He trailed off and looked at his hands.

"_If_?" Ariadne asked. Real fear spreading over her body.

"The government would like to use your talents to work for them. Specifically, in the same unit that helped to find you. They want you to design dreams to catch theses illegal extractors and put them away. This is the only way we can grant you your freedom." The lawyer said softly.

"I'm here to look after you best interest. This is the deal. _Take this deal_." he said with compassion.

Ariadne felt her eyes well up. The gravity of what these people were saying was very heavy.

The Lawyer sighed.

"You can say no. Keep quite like Cobb told you to. Like the men who payed thugs to kill you told you to. You can do all of that right into a prison cell. For life."

Tears landed on Ariadne's hands.


	5. Chapter 5

The Next Level

"_There are twelve hours in the day, and about fifty in the night."_

_Rabutun- Chantal_

~The work with Jim and his Team was very much like the work with Cobb. Jim had a good report with his own Point Man and Forger.

The Point Man, Fedor, was Russian and was nothing but professional. He didn't like working with Ariadne because she was a woman and said so often. But he was impressed enough by her talents in building.

The Forger was Australian and rarely said anything to anyone. Braker, was a little older then Ariadne. Like Jim he was handsome, but lacked the same style of dress her first Team possessed. He was the type to work in jeans and a T-shirt. Braker, like the Russian Point Man, kept their distance from the Architect.

Ariadne didn't mind. She was always lost in her own thoughts. Her own memories.

~ "It's like something from Escher." She had said as she and Arthur carefully exited the penrose steps. The Point Man was teaching her the basic's of paradoxes that were only achieved in the dream world. Arthur had smiled and nodded.

"Exactly." He said. "So a closed loop like that will help you disguise the boundaries of the dream you create." He said as they returned to the ground floor. They talked briefly of Cobb and she had learned about his late wife. She had been surprised that she had died.

Mal had seemed a fearsome thing. She had her doubts when Arthur had said she had been 'lovely'.

"How long have you and Cobb worked together?" Ariadne asked. Arthur sighed deeply.

"About five years now. We meet through Miles. I was working in the military. Training soldiers. Cobb's work was more interesting. He and Mal were... brilliant together. They designed amazing dreams."

Ariadne nodded. She wondered if she could ever hope to compare to the Shade as far as skill in the dreams. It was just so much she had to learn. Arthur seemed to sense her thoughts.

"Don't worry." He said "You'll get it. Cobb said he never saw anyone pick it up as quickly as you did." She smiled.

"How do I make a paradox?" She asked. He smiled and nodded.

"The trick is to trap the projections, not the dreamer." He started.

Arthur's teaching were easy. He used his skills for training soldiers to teach her. He never grew tired of her questions, her ravenous curiosity. His smile getting wider as she grasped the dream world and all it's complexities.

"Here." he said as they continued their lessons. He pulled out a gun, cleverly concealed behind his back. Instinctively, she put her hands up.

"What are you doing?" She asked worriedly. Her pulse racing.

"You need to learn to defend yourself against the projections." He said calmly. He stood behind her, taking her arms in his. Forcing her to hold the deadly weapon.

"I don't like guns." She said. Not wanting to touch the sinister metal. She heard Arthur chuckle slightly. Felt his breath on the back of her neck.

"You'll like being hurt by projections even less." He told her. "Every woman needs to learn to defend herself. Now take it in your hands like this." His large hands gently forming over her small delicate fingers. "Don't worry, the safety is on." He assured her.

"Like this?" She asked awkwardly holding it. His hands stayed on hers.

"That's right. No, This is an automatic, once it's loaded and the safety is off, all you have to do is squeeze the trigger. No need to cock it." He told her.

For some reason, she found that last statement funny.  
>"Alright." She breathed.<p>

His body moved her shoulders, squaring them.

"Now, this button here, will disengage the safety." he told her. His lips near her ear. She found it difficult to concentrate with his breath so close to her. She found her legs were wobbling.

"Now." He said "I want you to shoot one of the projections."

"What? No, I can't!"

"If you hold a gun on someone, you have to be ready to use it. If they take it away from you, your _dead._ Understand?" His words were harsh. Biting. They frightened her.

"Train the sight on a target. Aim for the belt."

"Not the head?" She asked.

"No, the head is a small target that moves too much. Aim for the abdomen or chest. Its a larger target that will debilitate or kill your attacker. Squeeze the trigger, never pull." He told her.

With a deep breath, she squeezed the trigger. A loud piercing bang rang out in the elegant office building as a projection went down.

"Do it again." Arthur ordered.

She protested.

"I want you to be comfortable with shooting the projections." He said. "Do it again."

With in a few minuets, several projection lay dead below them. The Point Man and the Architect, safely above them. Cut off from the projections by a paradox.

"Now, I'm going to show you how to reload and what to do if it jams." He said looking at her proudly.

"I hope I don't have to use it." She whispered. Her hands shaking.  
>"You did good." He told her gently. "Like I said. All women need to learn to defend themselves. You never know who might want to hurt you."<p>

He was so kind to her. He spoke to her so gently. How could that just be an act?

~ No one on her new Team talked about the lives they lived outside their new work. Ariadne went through the motions of designing mazes and taking the dreamer, always Jim, through each level. But her heart was not in the work.

Before, she had been eager to explore the dream world with Arthur and the Team.

During the day, she worked on her mazes. At night she returned to her new apartment. It was still in Paris and much larger and nicer then her old place. The American Nurse stayed with her. She would cook and keep her company. It had been 3 months since she last saw Arthur or the Team.

She felt every second of that time.

She was under strict house arrest except for when the Team arrived in her building and used an empty apartment there for their work.

On her off time she slept and dreamed the same old nightmare. Arthur, the same as he always was. Then the phone call. The attack. Her death. She woke in a sweat and would stare out her window for hours at the streets and buildings below.

She imagined she was lost in Limbo and entertained thoughts that perhaps, she _never_ left Limbo and this was all still a dream. That she would wake up on that plane arriving in L.A. That she would let Arthur into her hotel room. That he would use those hands of his to take her clothes off. Inch, by inch. That he would kiss her sweetly, His lips on her most privet of places. She would tell him all about this nightmare. He would promise that it was only a dream. He could never hurt her. She believed him.

That was a reality she envisioned for herself.

She had lost her totem after the kidnapping. After staring out at the city for hours those nights she had the nightmares, she thought about what it would take to wake herself up. That this world was not real. There was only one escape.

~ "That's her right?" Said the shifty Mole Man.

Arthur, Cobb, Eames and Saito crowed around a grainy black photograph that was unmistakably their Architect.

"That's her." Arthur said loudly. "She's been in Paris this whole time?" The Mole Man backed away from the Point Man's anger.

"No! Not the _whole_ time. We only found her because we were looking for someone else." The Mole Man explained hurriedly.

"It just so happens, that there is an Australian Forger that was taken almost 6 months ago. His Team hired some people to find him. They found him and your Lady Architect as well. We have been staked out at the building across from her for a month now. She almost always sits by the window after the end of her... treatments."

"What _treatments_!" Arthur barked.

Cobb pulled another grainy photo lose and his scowl grew deeper. It showed a plump nurse hooking up the sleeping Architect to a PASIV device.

"Why are they doing this?" Saito asked.

"To control her." Cobb said

"Bloody Hell, their doing a little inception of their own." Eames added "And with _our_ girl."

"At least we know she's alive." Cobb said.

"Right, so lets go in." Arthur said recklessly. The Point Man had spent the past few months filled with worry. It was making his normally careful planning sloppy.

"We have to be careful about this, Arthur." Cobb said softly. "We need to find out who these people are and why their doing this."

"I thought that was pretty obvious." Eames said with a snort. "Their assembling there own Extraction Team. They need there own Team who can extract information and is loyal. They kidnapped Ariadne because she was trained by the best and she is very good at building the dreams. I can assume the Australian Forger is top of his game as well?"

"His people are paying a handsome reward to get him back, so I can imagine so." The Mole Man said shuffling his photos into his ratty back pack.

~"Were going after Cobb." Jim said one night over dinner. Ariadne looked up in amazement. "You found them?" she asked. A spark of curiosity flashed in her eyes. Jim nodded.

"Yes, we believe he and the Team have a new Architect and their in Paris. They mean to extract information from a rival oil and engineering firm." He said simply.

She nodded and felt a slight pain at the thought of a new Architect. She wondered if the new Team member was a woman. If Arthur liked her. She pushed those thoughts away.

Since the kidnapping, her mind worked slower. The American Nurse told her the work would bring her mind back to normal after a while, but Ariadne found it hard to grasp new ideas. The thought that she would help catch her old Team felt awful. It felt like a cold stone was embedded in her and twisting.

"All right" She said sadly. No more tears left to cry.

~"You know we don't belong here, Gorgeous." The Australian Forger told her. They were all in the dream built by Ariadne and controlled by Jim.

The dream was a fun house of paradoxes and mazes designed so no one could get out. Jim assured them it was they only way to elude Cobb's Team. He rarely gave them any time alone together to speak in private.

He was distracted at the moment by the Russian Point Man. Ariadne had the feeling this convenient diversion was all planed just for her. The Australian Forger was casual enough in his body language. Someone out of ear shot would never know they were talking.

Braker was always relaxed and seemed to be a full member of her new Team.

"Don't believe anything Jim or that Nurse of yours tell you." He whispered. "They work for Cobol Engineering. Cobol was the one who kidnapped you. Not your own people." Ariadne stared at Jim and Fedor. Her heart starting to race. Her expression, blank.

"The American Nurse is a Chemist." Braker continued. "She has been hooking you up to a PASIV device each night. You've been dreaming right? Same old nightmare?"

She nodded.

"They lie to you. My Team, and Fedor's are working right now to get all of us out. We need you to create a paradox to trap Jim. He is always the dreamer. He doesn't trust us to control the dream."

Ariadne said nothing. She looked ahead and remained motionless.

"Tell me you understand, Gorgeous ." Braker said softly.

"I understand." She said sadly. The Australian Forger nodded and sighed.

"Don't lose yourself. Stay focused on your life before. On the people in your life. Don't trust the dreams you have here. Don't eat any food or drinks the nurse give you" He added before walking away.

~"Cobb, we need to consider that when we get our girl out she may be very seriously affected by the dreams she was forced to have." Eames said.

Arthur stopped his research on the computer and turned around to look at the Forger.

"Who knows what she has been manipulated into believing? We need to be prepared." Eames added. The Team had all gathered at a new warehouse in Paris to plan Ariadne's rescue.

The Australian Forger's Team was flying in but would not land for a few hours. Yuseff had just arrived in France.

"Well, if I wanted to keep someone under control I would use a mixture of a latent relaxant and a drug very similar to LSD. It makes the subject feel very helpless and they tend to believe anything you tell them. Enough of that everyday, you would try to fly if I told you that you could." Yuseff said. "The problem is, that it takes a long time to leave the body and it can cause permanent madness. The subject has difficulty telling reality from what the drugs made them believe."

"Right, so when we get to our girl..." Eames started

"She might be so confused she runs from us." Cobb finished

"Also there is the detox to think about." Yuseff said

"I have staff on call at a privet hospital in Japan." Saito said "A Doctor Yori there is highly recommended in working with victims of these dream manipulations."

"So after we leave here, we make a 13 hour flight to Japan?" Arthur huffed. "What if she needs medical attention right away?" He asked, ever the pessimist.

"We can't give her anything to calm her because it will only increase the hold of the mixture." Yuseff said sadly.

"We just have to help her with detox the hard way Darlings" Eames sighed.


	6. Chapter 6

To Take a Leap of Faith

"_All men whilst they are awake are in one common world: _

_But each of them, when he is asleep, is in a world of his own."_

_Plutarch_

~It almost felt like expectancy. Ariadne flushed her dinner the American Nurse gave her in the toilet and felt remarkably recharged. The Australian Forger had been right. There had to be something she was being given.

She fell asleep with ease, but slept lightly because she woke up when the American Nurse came in with a silver briefcase. She knew she was being taken into a dream and pretended to be asleep while the American Nurse, with suddenly rough strong hands jerked her arm out and hooked her up.

Suddenly she was in the dream. Her mind was sharper now. She remembered her training with Arthur. She was the Subject. Which means her mind populated the dream space.

She was in the warehouse again. Arthur and Eames were there. They were laughing. Yuseff and Cobb were in the other room. But things were different. She willed Arthur and Eames to look at her and they stopped what they were doing and trained their eyes on her.

'Who is the Dreamer?' she asked them in her mind. The men looked from her to her projection of Cobb. His back was turned and it came to her. The American Nurse was also a Forger like Eames and the Australian.

She had assumed Cobb's appearance to make sure the Architect dreamed the same each night. Her own fears about Arthur and the Team caused her projections to kill her each night. She looked back at Arthur and Eames. She decided her best recourse was to not allow the American Nurse to know that she was onto her. Ariadne stood.

"No!" She screamed and ran out of the warehouse. "Your not going to kill me!" She shouted melodramatically over her shoulder. She feared she had over acted, surely no one would fall for that. But when her dream timed out and she woke up, the American Nurse was there and seemed very pleased.

"Not another nightmare, Dear?" She asked. Ariadne tried to remain calm. To give nothing away.

"Yes, those people who tried to hurt me. Cobb and the rest." She said rubbing her head in mock fear. "But I ran away from them. It took so long for me to believe what they had done. I feel so stupid for not seeing it before."

The American Nurse went away very happy.

Ariadne took Braker's advise and tried to stay focused on her life before. On the people she trusted. Hopefully they would get her out. Her mind was returning to her. Memories of the mission, memories of Arthur.

~They were in the hotel one the second level. Cobb's "Mr. Charles" Gambit had put her and Arthur in real danger from Fischer's projections. The well tailored men and women kept looking at them. Arthur and Ariadne had abandoned the lobby where they watched Cobb bring Fischer's attention to the strangeness of the dream. Arthur's gait was strong and sure. His pace so fast Ariadne had trouble keeping up with him.

The Point Man's large hand took hold of hers and pulled her towards him away from the encroaching projections. The two of them vanished down a stairwell paradox.

"What if they reach us while were asleep and in the third level?" She asked as they hid in the shadows. A projection of a man in a suit walked past them.

Not seeing them.

"I wont let that happen." He whispered back. His large body concealing hers.

Suddenly the floor shifted. As Yuseff's erratic driving made the dream world turn and lean dangerously. Arthur's arms were around her waist, keeping her close to him.

"Careful." He whispered in her ear as he kept her from falling off the stairwell into the paradox. The sharp movements of the van making traversing the hotel difficult.

Arthur seemed to have no trouble maneuvering around the shifting floor. Ariadne was starting to feel almost sea sick.

"How can you do this? The dream is so unstable." She finally asked as he took hold of her hand. Gently pulling her away from more projections. He smiled. His eyes bright.

"You get used to it." He said.

Suddenly, a projection was in front of them. Ariadne didn't have time to scream before Arthur's quick and graceful movements floored the projection. The large beefy man soon lay unconscious on the floor. Arthur's large hands were over hers again.

"Stay close." He said.

She did as she was told. Trusting him completely.

She held these memories close as Jim called his stolen Team into the dream one last time.

~Down in the dream Jim had her build, Ariadne felt stronger.

She devised a way to trap her capture. Trap him inside his own dream.

'_The trick is to trap the projections not the dreamer'_.

Arthur had told her this.

She could almost hear his voice in the remembering. She would do the opposite. She planed it carefully. The Forger and Point Man had gotten very good at tag teaming Jim to keep his distracted. She even found herself playing a role in it so the Australian and Russian could talk alone.

She _felt_ that her people were close. That at any time they would come.

~"Bloody Hell" Eames gasped. Inside the building the Mole Man had been watching, was a maze of beige walls meant to confuse intruders. The Mole Man and the Australian Team had helped them break into the building and fend off the guards before they found the work shop. Ariadne, Jim, the Australian Forger and the Russian Point Man were all under. Hooked up to a complicated PASIV machine.

"Shhh" Arthur hissed as he and the Australian Point Man disappeared. Cobb and the rest of the Team stood silent, out in the open when suddenly there was screaming. Arthur and the Australian Point Man had the American Nurse and her weapon secured.

"What kind of sedation were they given?" Cobb asked kneeling down to met her face. The American Nurse said nothing but looked violently angry.  
>"Looks like a basic mixture." Yuseff said looking over the PASIV device. "I've never seen one this intense. It can administer per-arranged mixtures without pulling them out. Keeps them in the dream much longer."<p>

"Pull them all out." Arthur ordered.

The Australian Extractor was pushing his sleeping Team mate out of his chair. Attempting to "kick" him out.

"He won't wake up that way." Yuseff said "I can't bring them out. Its a preset mixture. If we pull them out before the mixture releases them, their brains will fry. The dream has to collapse, or they have to _chose_ to come out."

"Only one escape." Eames chimed in.

"We have to go in." The Australian Extractor said angerly. "Convince them to come out."

"Right. Once more unto the Breach, dear friends." Eames said taking the IV from Yuseff. Arthur, Eames and Cobb took nearby chairs as they hooked themselves up.

"You don't have much time, Mate." The Australian Point Man said. "Security will be on us in less then 15 minutes. Its get them out by then, or not at all."

"Give us as much time as you can." Cobb said before his world slipped away.

~More complex then anything in any dream they had shared before, the fun house showed the true range of Ariadne's skill as an Architect.

"Our girl built all this?" Eames sighed. "We don't pay her enough." He looked at the ceiling where a stair well ran upside down and projections walked across it defying the basic law of gravity.

~Ariadne and her fellow hostages _felt_ Cobb's Team as soon as they cam into the dream.

"Someone else is here." Jim said sensing them as well.

"I'll go check it out." he Russian Point Man said seeming ever loyal to Jim. The Russian vanished behind a moving glass wall. The Australian Forger gave The Architect a knowing nod and Ariadne knew the time had come.

She walked away from them.

"Hey!" Jim called to her as she quickly escaped up a stair well that ran up the wall then across it.

Like Alice chasing the White Rabbit into Wonderland, Jim followed her into the trap she designed and he dreamed.

~The Russian appeared out of the wall to Cobb and his Team. Arthur and Eames pointed their weapons at him, but the Russian Point Man remained calm.

"Hold you fire. My name is Fedor." The Russian said to Cobb. "Did my people send you?" He asked.

"No, were here for a girl named Ariadne and an a man named Braker." Cobb said. "Where is she?"

"Da, the American Woman... and The Australian. She and Braker are with the Pig. But you need to wait here." The Russian said.

"No, we'll follow you."Arthur said curtly

"No." The Russian said even more harshly. "Your _Lady_ Architect designed this to be a maze to trap you forever. It's too dangerous if you don't know the way. I'll bring her to you." He walked off and a staircase moved from the floor below to seal the team off from the Russian.

"The Pig?" Eames said in almost a laugh.

~Jim followed Ariadne into a massive room and suddenly felt different. He felt like he was standing on his head and blood was rushing to his brain. He looked up and realized her was on the ceiling. The Architect was standing on what would normally be the ground and looking up at him.

"Paradox." She said softly.

"Impressive." He said "How do I get down?" He asked.

"You don't" she said more boldly. "My people have come for me and I'm leaving. Your the dreamer so the dream will still exist when we leave. But that nifty little PASIV device you built will keep you here forever."

"Nice try sweetheart." Jim growled. "All I have to do is kill myself, and I wake up."

"Try it." Ariadne challenged.

Jim walked to what appeared to be a ledge but it melted into a door that took him further away form her. She sighed and stood up. "You wanted a maze to catch the best. I think I caught you a little _to_ easy."

She turned around and left the changing room while Jim howled with rage. The door sealed shut, and Jim was trapped.

~"Braker!" She shouted catching sight of the Australian Forger. She had almost lost herself in her own maze and was out of breath.

"Is it done?" He asked taking hold her her. She nodded when Fedor walked in from a set of stairs running upside down.

"Our rescue is here." The Russian said. "The time has come."

The three of them ran through the maze. The Architect had to stop them at several points to wait for the right staircase to move into position. It seemed to take ages. Finally, they arrived at the entrance and when she laid eyes on her old team, Ariadne screamed.

~"It's alright!" Arthur said trying to reach for her, but the Architect cowered behind the Australian Forger. The sudden appearance of the men who killed her in her dreams each night frightened her with their suddenly being real and before her.

"We need to get out." Braker shouted, allowing Ariadne to hide behind him.

"Right." Cobb said turning to the door they came out of.

"Not that way." The Russian said. "We have only one way out." The Russian lead them past moving walls and stair wells that led to nowhere.

Arthur tried to take hold of Ariadne but the Architect stayed close to the Australian. The colors of the fun house were all the same and had no reference points or landmarks to tell them where to go. The Russian had to stop often and ask the Architect fro directions.

"Time is an issue Kiddies." Eames said looking around at the confusing layout.

"It was designed to be not just a maze but a trap." Braker told them, his arm around the Architect.

"This way!" The Russian shouted and led them from the relative comfort of the maze to an impossibly high cliff. Its bottom was black and seemed to fall forever.

"The kick." Cobb breathed. He turned to his Point Man "Arthur you take Ariadne. Eames and I will take the rest."

"What?" The Architect stammered as Arthur put his arms around her. "You _are_trying to kill me! You sent those men to kidnap and kill me!" She screamed.

Hot tears burned in her eyes as fear pounded through her body. She tried to brake away from Arthur's arms.

"No!" The Point Man shouted, taking her face in his large hands and looking her in the eye. "Were going to leave. Were going to wake up and go home." She met his eye and tried to believe him.

"You know what's real. This world is _not real_. We have wake up." He said.

Her tears fell onto his hands as she nodded. Arthur let go of her face and took her hands. The two of them walked off the cliff.


	7. Chapter 7

Dream Collapsing

"_Reality is wrong, Dreams are for real."_

_Tupac Shakur_

~The fall was so high and jarring, it bolted them both out quickly. They awoke out of the dream to the Australian team giving them worried looks. Cobb and Braker quickly came back as did Eames and the Russian.

"Time to go." The Australian Extractor said as they helped Braker to stand. Arthur put an arm under Ariadne as the moment she stood her world started to spin.

"It's the compound." Yuseff told them. "It will wear off soon."

Cobb and Eames held onto Fedor as his heavy body required more support.

"I don't know the way out." Ariadne said sadly.

"Don't worry Darling." Eames said with a smile. "We do." Ariadne looked over her shoulder at Jim still asleep and taped in the dream.

"What are you doing?" Cobb asked as Yuseff unhooked Jim from the PASIV.

"We can't let Cobol keep this technology." He said wrapping up the device and holding it close to his body.  
>"It will wake Jim up." Ariadne said sadly.<p>

"No," Arthur said "He's gone."

~The two Teams lead their precious cargo up to the roof of the building where a large rescue helicopter was just landing.  
>"Mr. Saito and his pension for <em>neatness<em>." Eames said with a laugh. Saito opened the passenger door and waved them in.

Everything seemed frightfully sharp and real to Ariadne as Arthur helped her to take a seat and buckled her in.  
>"Hey, look at me." He ordered. She met him in the eye as he said. "Were out."<p>

She trusted him.

~The 13 hour flight to Japan was grueling. Ariadne and her fellow captives had begun to sweat and shake with the sudden withdrawal from the drugs they had been given. The drugs were in the food and they had to eat something during the months they were being held.

She had started having thoughts of jumping from the chopper to wake up and felt frightened of Arthur sitting beside her. The Point Man tried to give her some comfort but her agitation only grew.

The lights of Tokyo were bursting in the sky making night into day as the chopper landed. A medical staff dressed all in white with their faces covered were waiting. Arthur helped her lay on the stretcher. She saw only the ceiling as she was wheeled inside.

~The hospital was bright and everyone spoke in quick tongues. It took her a long time to finally realize they were not speaking English. Then a woman in a lab coat was standing over her and talking softly to her. Asking if she knew where she was. She had to wake up.

"None of this was real." She told the woman. "Only one escape."

~Doctor Yori met the men in the small waiting room.

"She has been _heavily_ medicated with a mixture designed to not only make her believe anything someone told her but to subdue her as well. It's very dangerous. We think we can help her. She was not exposed as long as the Russian." Yori said

"What's going to happen to Fedor?" Eames asked.

Yori shook her head.

"I am afraid he was exposed to the compound for too long. He is no longer sure what is real and what is not. He has a very high chance of... trying to wake himself up." She explained sadly.

"You mean he's going to try to kill himself?" Cobb asked, although he already knew the answer.

"What about Ariadne?" Arthur asked. The Point Man was feeling his blood run cold.

"She is more likely then the others to come back. She was told by her captures that you hired people to kidnap and kill her. That this was what happened to your last Architect." Yori explained. "With the drugs, it was easy to believe this lie." Yori politely excused herself and she and Saito conferred outside the hall.

Arthur felt his blood turn even colder as he sat down. How could Ariadne believe such a thing? His mind swam over their time together. Surely, surely she had to have known they cared about her. Not just himself, but the entire Team. The Point Man felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Cobb.

"We should go to the hotel, we can't do anymore here." Cobb said gently after a long repose. "The Australian Team is with Braker and we can take shifts with Ariadne."

"Doctor!" came a nurse and Yori hurried into Ariadne's room.

The Team quickly followed her to find Ariadne awake and screaming for help. She was sweating profusely and her eyes were sunken in, giving her face a sickly look. She was in a rage as the nurses tried to subdue her.

"No!" She screamed. She tried to kick them away, fighting demons only she could see. Her gaze suddenly fell on Arthur and the others. Her haunted eyes grew wide at the sight of them. She screamed louder.  
>"No! Help me! He's going to kill me!" She looked to the nursing staff to help her as Doctor Yori called out.<p>

"Get the restraints!"

At this a nurse ushered the men out of the room and shut the door.

Ariadne screamed as the staff put restraints on her arms and legs to keep her from hurting herself.

From the hallway the men could here her pitiful cries for help. She pleaded for Arthur to help her.

"Arthur! Arthur! Please, Don't let them do this! Arthur! Don't! Arthur! It's not real! Please Arthur! Please help me!" She screamed. Her cries echoing through the hall.

Cobb and Eames had to physically keep the Point Man from going back into her room. It seemed as brutal for them to listen as it was for her experience.

~ Days passed. The Team stayed at a nearby hotel. They went to see Ariadne everyday but she was usually asleep. Her face looking drawn and tired. When she was awake, she looked right through them.

Yori recommended that they stay away from her hospital room. That the Architect was experiencing a terrible withdrawal from the drugs. Soon enough, they would try to bring her back to reality.

Cobb, realizing there was nothing more he could do to help Ariadne, made a brief trip home to check on his children. Eames and Arthur stayed in Japan. The Forger pretending to have only a casual interest in Ariadne's well being. Arthur knew Eames was very worried for her.

For the Point Man, things were happening too slowly. The weak little creature in the hospital bed held no resemblance to the Ariadne he knew. His concern for her was something he did not attempt to hide. Not from Eames or the Australian Team.

~ "So, how long have you two been together?" The Australian Extractor asked. He and Arthur were in the family waiting room. The Point Man looked up in surprise at the question. His face betrayed the sleepless nights he had endured.

"Oh..." He said trying to think. "No, were not a couple." He said sadly. "She's just our Architect."

"_Sure_ she is." The Extractor said kindly. "That's why your always here, waiting for her to wake up." He smiled softly. Arthur shook his head.

"Were not together." The Point Man said firmly.  
>"Well, maybe when she's better." The Extractor offered. Arthur allowed the pleasant idea to enter his mind.<p>

"Maybe." He conceded. Arthur let his tired mind wander over thoughts of himself and the Architect. Of what they could be together... if she would only come back to him.

~He daydreamed of them together.

In her small apartment in Paris. Her rustic furniture. Her comfortable looking bed. He imagined them hiding from the daylight under the covers all day. Talking about simple and easy things. Maybe they would venture out of bed to eat or drink something. They would listen to music, look at her art books.

Night would come over them. Perhaps they would make love. An act that was comfortable for them. Easy. They would come up for air in the morning. Go outside into the city. Eat, and enjoy the sights. He would hold her hand. She would smile. Her face healthy and her eyes bright.

Arthur found himself smiling softly at the thought.

~The Architect was unsure how much time passed. Her body was spent. She was too tired now to cry out. To exhausted to fight the staff. Her restraints were removed. Her arms and legs were limp.

When Ariadne would wake up, a nurse would give her water and she would sleep again. She was alone in her room except for the silent nurse who never spoke and only gave her water and made sure she was comfortable.

She had strange nightmares. They came and faded away, leaving no memory that they were ever there at all.

~ Finally, she woke up to daylight. Her body was so tired. She looked at the foot of her bed. Cobb, Eames and Arthur were sitting there with no expressions on their faces. Saito was standing in the corner beside a large window that presented a exceptional view of the city. A female Doctor was standing beside her bed.

"Ariadne?" The Doctor said in perfect English. "I am Doctor Yori." Ariadne nodded and tried to not think about her head hurting. "I need you to tell me and these men here," She looked at the Team "What you _know_ to be real."

Ariadne nodded and tried to find her voice.

"I...I'm in a hospital." She croaked. Her voice sore from being silent for so long.

She looked out the window at the city.

"I'm in Japan." She said recognizing the architecture. "I... I worked with you." She nodded at the men. They said nothing and looked strait ahead. Nothing about their faces let her know if she was right or wrong.

"I... umm... I was kidnapped. Men broke into my home and..." She stopped then, not wanting to remember to the attack. The falling flowers.

"I was in a dark place...I was there for a long time. They told me that Cobb, had told them to kill me." She said.

She was half afraid Cobb would stand up and yell, but he remained seated. His face a deep scowl.

"Then, I was rescued. I was taken out of that basement. I was in a hospital. They told me Cobb and Arthur always had their Architects killed. My mind wasn't working right... I was... lost. They had me build for them. Braker and Fedor were with me. I dreamed-"

"No." Yori interrupted gently. "Tell us what you _know_ is real" Ariadne nodded and tears fell down her face.

"I built for them. I was scared not to." She started to cry. "Then, I was taken out of that place by Cobb and Braker's people. We all left together."

"Do you believe these men are trying to kill you?" Yori asked.

Ariadne shook her head.

"Why not?" The Doctor said. "Why don't you believe it?"

"Because I _know_ it. I _know_ it's not true." Ariadne said at last. She cried then. Ugly ripping sobs.

Then, Arthur was holding her. Eames was rubbing her back. She let them comfort her till she felt relieved and could sleep again without any fear.


	8. Chapter 8

Wake Up Music

"_Without the Darkness, how would we recognize the light?"_

_Tuvok , Star Trek: Voyager_

~The days fell away. Ariadne felt better and more clear headed with the cure of time.

Fedor had to be placed in a psychiatric hospital. He mumbled constantly about needing to wake up. His face never lost it's troubled, haunted look. It filled Cobb and his Team with a new respect for what could have happened to Ariadne.

The Architect was still in the hospital but it was mainly till Cobb and the others could decide on what to do next. They were off the grid for now. Only a few people knew where they were. Saito had far reaching powers. The Business Man was able to hide them safely from the world.

Saito had been overly generous to Ariadne. Her hospital room was large and opulent by any standards. Her care staff, professional but never doting. He had arranged a personal shopper to provide her with new clothes. Even having an assistant go to Paris to retrieve her more personal articles. Ariadne didn't want much. An old leather carry all. A few photographs. Her sketch books. Her journals. She felt much better being dressed in her usual style and started to return to her old self.

~A knock on the door. She came out of the bathroom in her hospital room, and Arthur was there with flowers. She smiled when she saw him. All of the fears and nightmares from before had faded away. How could she believe for a moment that he could hurt her?

"Are those for me?" She coyly asked pointing at the beautiful arrangement with a shy smile. He didn't say anything as he sat the vase with the overly large flora on her little table.

"Anyone in the hospital, should get flowers." He said. "Cobb is too busy running around with Saito and Eames is too busy running around." he sighed as he straitened his suit. "So it fell to me."

"What a horrible chore." She teased sadly looking over the stunning colors. "Their perfect." She said softly.

It felt like she should embrace him then, but the air hung between them. To many things had happened. It seemed they couldn't go back to the easy flirting they had shared before. Arthur looked embarrassed.

"Do you have any plans?" He asked finally. Awkwardly.

"I don't think I'll go back to Paris." She said packing her old leather carry all the assistant had brought back from her apartment.

"Cobol is still out there." She sighed and looked at him. "It's not safe."

"I'm sorry" Arthur said sadly. "Cobb and I... we never meant any of this to happen to you."

"I know." She told him quickly. "I knew this kind of work would have it's consequences."

He nodded then. The silence between them spread out.  
>"Saito has offered us work here." He said brightly. "We would be his personal extraction Team. Teach his engineers to defend against extractions and the like. An occasional extraction or inception. Cobb is planning on bringing his kids in from the states next week."<p>

"Dose he think Cobol can reach you here?" She asked.

"Not likely. We took their fancy PASIV. Yuseff said it was a prototype. Without their Extractor, they have no Team and he is long gone." Arthur told her taking a seat. "You know...can always-"

"Hello Gorgeous!" Came a friendly Australian accent. Ariadne turned to see Braker standing in her door with a big smile.

"Hello Handsome!" She laughed as the Australian Forger scoped her into a bear hug. Ariadne's face became bright and happy at seeing her fellow capture up and about again. They had both recovered very well from their shared experience of being taken and drugged by Cobol.

"You did _really_ good back there in the dream. Proud of you." He said still holding her up. Her feet never touching the ground. Ariadne smiled.

"You get tired of running around with these Americans you can come to Sydney with us. Our Architect is rubbish compared to you." He cut his gaze to the flowers Arthur had brought. "Nice flowers." He added as he dropped her back down to the floor. She laughed as he let her go. Arthur looked uncomfortable, and annoyed.

"Um... Arthur you remember Braker?" She said slightly embarrassed by the Australian Forger's show of affection.

"Yes." The Point Man said curtly.  
>"Darling, you didn't tell him about <em>us<em> did you?" Braker teased as Ariadne gave him a swift slap to the chest and smiled.

The Australian Forger was dressed in worn jeans and a T shirt. It was a far cry from the style of Arthur and the rest of the Team, but it looked handsome on him.

"You look really good." She added looking him up and down.

"I have to say, I like Japan. Never thought I'd take a shine to Sushi but it's really grown on me. Might even stay here and eat it all the time." Braker said.

"And get really fat?" She asked.

"Naw, it's alright. I'll just become one of those Sumo Blokes." He told her.

Arthur could only watch in horror as the Australian Forger made himself at home in the Architect's privet hospital room. Ariadne didn't seem to mind as he stretched himself out on her bed and turned on her T.V.

"It's a shame were leaving today. I've enjoyed the vacation. We could have stayed up all night again with another Zombie movie marathon." Braker said flicking through the channels.

She laughed and looked at Arthur who's face remained grave. For no reason at all, he suddenly _hated_ Braker.

The Australian Forger flipped off the T.V. and stood up to walk out. "Well Gorgeous, I gotta get back home." He went out into the hall and retrieved a paper bag. "Something to remember me by, Love." he said giving it to her.  
>"What's this?" She asked with a smile as she opened it. Inside was a very nice camera.<p>

"Since you want to stay in Japan to work for Saito. Study all the old architecture and what not. Thought you would need a good camera." he said slyly.

"Thank you." She said and gave the Australian Forger a big hug. Braker let her go and headed for the door.

"Call me anytime, Love." He said with a big smile. "Have fun you two." he added before he was gone. Arthur looked at the Architect in surprise. Ariadne shrugged.

"Saito wants me to stay on Cobb's Team. I can study architecture here in Tokyo. Even work as one if I wanted to." She shrugged. "I took him up on the offer." She said innocently.

Arthur smiled and stood up.

"You didn't say anything." He said walking over to her. Ariadne straitened his tie and smiled.

"I know." She said with the same smug expression he had given her, when he kissed her in the dream.

It was suddenly easy again. To be with her. To talk to her. To be her friend and her teacher. To be more. His hands were around her waist. His nose in her hair, her chest to his.

"I was so worried about you." He said in a fearful whisper. "If I had been there..."

"I know." She said into his chest. "I know you never would have allowed them to take me. I _know___that." His hands were on her back and he kissed the top of her head.

"It was that knowledge, that memory, that helped me to come back." She confessed

"Now that Fischer has dissolved his father's empire, Saito is certain Cobol will be the next to fall." Arthur said softly lacing his hands though her hair.. "You _could_ go back to your old life. If that was what you would want."

"No. There will always be people looking to steal a good Architect." Ariadne reasoned. "I'm better off with you guys."

Arthur smiled, and held her closer. Held her for just a little longer.

"Saito owns an apartment building not far away. It's very nice." he said finally releasing her and taking her now packed bag. Ariadne took a small silver key from her pocket.

"He came by earlier today to drop off my key." She smiled mischievously.

Arthur had to crack a smile as she took her flowers off the little table and her new camera. The Point Man shouldered her old leather carry all and took the Architect's hand.

"Let's go see our new home." He said.


	9. Chapter 9

Bliss

"_A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship."  
>John D. Rockefeller<em>

~ Ariadne was fortunate that the apartment Saito provided allowed a small dark room in what was once a half bath. It took only a day for a crew to transform it into a perfect dark room for her new hobby.

She had fallen in love with photography since she and the Team moved to Japan almost 6 months ago.

Braker, The Australian Forger, had given her a camera and she had dutifully taken pictures of unique buildings, but Japan had a beautiful mix of old and new she had never seen before. She could be walking down a modern street market, full of lights and noise, and turn a corner and be on another market that looked exactly like it must have looked two centuries ago.

She had the dark room installed because digital was to perfect. It lacked a human touch and talent.

The shutter and physical feel of bringing a photo to life was a labor of love. To see the image _float_ into existence on the paper was like magic. She had spent her weekend photographing a temple that had been abandoned after the second world war. It was stunningly foreboding in the fact that it was neglected. With plants slowly reclaiming it, it almost looked evil.

~ Arthur was fully dressed with a cup of coffee and a news paper in hand. He looked up at the red light above Ariadne little dark room. The red light was on, which meant not to disturb her. He gave a soft knock instead.

"Yes?" came her muffled voice.

"Breakfast is ready." he called.

"Alright." She replied. The red light flicked off and she appeared.

"I finished developing the temple. It's so amazing." She said showing him the 8X10 black and white. Arthur nodded dutifully.

"Very nice." He said honestly. "I never would have thought to take pictures from this angel." He added.

"I was going to show them to my instructor later this week. I also think they can be used for our dream work." She added. Arthur nodded.

"I think Cobb will be impressed." He agreed. The pair sat down and a large dinner table.

"Thank you for cooking." she said with a laugh as she helped herself to the hot scones and fruit Arthur obviously just bought from a local store just an hour before.

He gave her a rare smile.

"Your cleaning up." He said opening his paper.

"You know," Ariadne said nodding to his paper "You'll never learn Japanese if you keep reading _The_ _New York Times _every morning." Arthur sighed softly. This was an old banter between him and the rest of the Team.

Ever stubborn, Arthur had difficulty assimilating to Japanese culture. It was to loud, to busy. There was to much happening around them and it was confusing. Ariadne and Eames took to Japan with ease. They absorbed all factors of the culture with fascination. Cobb seemed to take to life in Japan well, but only because he spent most of his time at work with Saito and American colleges. His children loved Japan. It was a flurry of never ending excitement for them. Like all young people, they learned to speak Japanese very quickly and often translated for there Father. Arthur desired nether the excitement or pace of such a busy people. The front door opened and Eames strolled in.

"Good morning, Kiddies." He sang out helping himself to a scone and a banana. "I had a lively night at the Karaoke bar when you two _downers_ left. Met a lovely young thing. By the way Ariadne if she comes around looking for me, just pretend to be my jealous wife."

"Yeah." Ariadne said, distracted by her photographs.

"Same as last time." Eames added.

Arthur looked at the Forger in mild annoyance. The was a routine for the Team. Cobb took his kids to school and then the Team had a nice "Homemade" breakfast before braving the day of dream extraction. Eames looked at Arthur and frowned.

"You know, you'll never learn Japanese if you keep reading the news in English." He said. Ariadne didn't look up from her photos but a wide smile was across her face.

"I do fine, Mr. Eames." Arthur stated trying to concentrate on a dull article.

"Right," Eames said rolling his eyes. He looked at Ariadne "How is your new major, Darling?"

"I haven't switched majors." The Architect said in a sing song voice. It was a statement she had made so many times lately she was well practiced at it. "It's just a hobby."

"Your taking a class at the international college and you have your own dark room." Eames stated.

"I'm not a professional student." She said defensively.

"Your not?" Arthur and Eames both said in surprise. Ariadne shot the Point Man a look as Eames chuckled.

"Morning." Cobb said coming in and throwing his jacket over a chair. "Traffic is picking up and it looks like rain." He nodded to Arthur as he sat down and helped himself to breakfast.

"No problem." Arthur said. "I finally got the car out." The Point Man shook his head. "Nightmare of red tape."

"You know, in Japan most people take the train." Ariadne said "Its faster then fighting the traffic."

"No, its safer to drive." was the Point Man's retort.

He didn't need to explain any further. Arthur had diligently worked to get a license to drive in Japan so that the Team could have their own transportation. The events from 6 months ago were still very raw. Ariadne's kidnapping and discovery of Cobol's research into extraction put them all in a state of being on constant guard. It was the reason they had all chosen to live in the same apartment building. Saito had them working exclusively for him in extraction. The businessman afforded them a comfortable life in a foreign country. Safely hidden from those who would hurt them.

"I'm surprised your willing to drive at all." Eames said "Your not liking Japan." Eames commented.

"I like Japan." Arthur said defensively.

"You don't embrace it. You never have fun with the rest of us." Eames told him.

Cobb stood up and took his cell phone out. He usually made his morning round of calls before the Team was done eating. Arthur said nothing. Ariadne looked at the Point Man.

"You don't have a T.V. In your apartment." She said softly. Arthur shook his head.  
>"I didn't watch T.V. In the States." He told her.<p>

"I'm just saying that if you watched some of the shows here, it may help you to feel more connected. When I first moved to Paris, even though I spoke the language, I still felt out of place. You have to embrace the culture in order to enjoy our life here."She said in a low voice. Eames, sensing this conversation was not for him, stood up and pretended an interest in the view out Ariadne's window.

"I enjoy our life here." Arthur said honestly. "I enjoyed going out with you to see the temples last week. I really did. This place is just... chaotic." He finished. Ariadne sighed.

Arthur was born in the wrong century and Japan was years ahead of everywhere else in the world. They were not a good mix.

"I wont bring it up anymore." She promised.

"You know, you don't have to have Eames and Cobb here every morning like this." Arthur said. He had grown irritated at having the Forger so close all the time. He was much more relaxed with just the two of them and those times had become far to few.

"No, I like it." Ariadne said gathering up the scant dishes. "It's very homey. I feel like I have brothers or something." She said taking the dishes over to the small but stylish kitchen.

"Brothers?" Arthur said in annoyance but no one heard him because Cobb had finished his call.

"Saito has some news about Cobol." The Extractor told them. "It looks like their trying to rebuild their own extraction team again."

"Using that horrid new PASIV contraption we stole?" Eames asked. Cobb nodded. Arthur stood and shrugged on his coat. The Team silently exited Ariadne's apartment as Arthur, with his own key, locked the door behind them.  
>"You know Arthur," Cobb said as they watched Ariadne and Eames head down the hall "You'll never pick up Japanese if you keep reading and American newspaper every morning." The Extractor followed the Forger and Architect and didn't see the filthy look the Point Man gave him.<p>

~ In the busy streets of Japan a teenage girl ran. It had already started to rain and the labyrinth of streets helped her hide. She ducked into a nearby shop to catch her breath. She had to find them. Warn them.

Perhaps they could protect her.

She had no idea who these people were and if they could be trusted. But anywhere was better then what her pursuers had in mind for her. She looked out the shop window and saw that it was empty except for a skinny stray cat lazily stalking his next meal. She retrieved a tattered envelope from her graffiti messenger bag. Pulling out the stolen photos. There were a candid photo of Arthur and Cobb at an airport. Another of Arthur and Ariadne getting into a cab. Yet a third and forth showed Eames and Saito. In bright red in there was stamped across each photo.

**TOP SECRET: Property of Cobol Engineering. **


	10. Chapter 10

Collision

"If you keep on saying things are going to be bad,

you have a good chance of being a prophet."

Isaac Bashevis Singer

Saito's office building looked modern and elegant in the skyline. Arthur was used to driving there every morning. But the hard rain was making things move more slowly. Cobb sat in the passenger seat and people watched, as Ariadne and Eames chatted happily in back. Arthur preferred to have the Architect in the back because he could subversively glance at his rear view mirror when ever he wanted. To look at her and not let her know he was looking at her.

It was in doing this the light changed and before he took his eyes of Ariadne he took his foot of the brakes. A teenage girl was suddenly in front of the car and Arthur braked suddenly cursing loudly. He honked his horn at her in horrid frustration of her jaywalking. The girl, oblivious to the downpour, gazed at them for a long time before walking away in a daze.  
>"Is she alright?" Ariadne asked. Her voice worried.<br>"Yeah, she looks okay." Arthur said still annoyed. The drive to Saito's office was much calmer.

~ "These were taken last night." Saito told them showing a slide show of a building and people coming and going.

"How can you be sure their Extractors?" Cobb asked.

"Because of the people involved. A Chemist from Brazil, an Architect from China. We have traced the purchase of the building to Cobol."

"That fancy PASIV device?" Eames asked.

"We think they have rebuilt it." Saito said

"How?" Ariadne asked. "It's very hard to get the components to build any PASIV device."

"By cannibalizing and old PASIV. Very dangerous I might add." Eames told the group. "I was in Dubai and a gentleman there had a set up very similar to Yuseff's. He utilized a re-modulated device... it did not end well for the dreamers." Ariadne nodded silently grateful to work with professionals.

"How is it coming getting a new Chemist?" Arthur asked. Saito looked uncomfortable and shook his head. Yuseff had not wanted to accompany the Team to Japan. He preferred to stay in Mombasa with his den. It affected the Teams ability to delve into different levels of dreams.

~ In the lobby of Saito's office building the teenage girl walked in dripping wet. The security guards closely scrutinized her. It was too good to be true. To find the American Team so quickly.

~ "We can not allow Cobol to have this new technology." Saito said in his careful English.

Cobb nodded.

"The unstable nature of the device can lose the dreamer." He said looking over the reports Saito's engineers provided on the PASIV recovered from Ariadne's kidnapping.

"I thought this thing could let the dreamer wake up without collapsing the dream." the Architect said.

"In theory." Mr. Saito said. "But by trapping the dreamer in a paradox, such as you did with the Cobol Extractor, it would _never_ allow them to escape. And the dream would continue and never time out." The Team let out a low breath.

"So with this device, if we get trapped in a paradox, we can never wake up." Arthur said sounding horrified.  
>"And if someone tried to wake us up manually..." Ariadne started to say.<p>

"Our brains will fry." Eames concluded.

The Team had concluded their meeting at Saito's office and with a new respect to the sobering situation, they all remained silent on the elevator ride down.  
>"Cobb," Arthur said at last. "We don't have to do this."<p>

Cobb and the others looked at the Point Man.

"It's to dangerous to go into this kind of dream state." Arthur explained  
>"We can't let them do this to someone else." Ariadne told him defiantly. She herself had been hooked up to the new PASIV device and had trapped Jim in a paradox that lobotomized him when the Team stole the device during her rescue.<p>

"Exactly why we don't need to go through this again." Arthur said steadily.

"Our experience with the the new PASIV makes us the most qualified to stop them." Ariadne said with her usual resistance. "They may have kidnapped others and are experimenting on them right now. Remember what happened to Fedor?"

The Team didn't have to be reminded of the Russian Point Man subjected to drugs and dreams for so long he had lost his hold on what was real. It never left anyone's mind that the same could have happened to Ariadne.

As the elevator door opened to reveal the lobby, the Teenage Girl stood and marched directly to Cobb. The security guards tried to stop her but she yelled out.

"Mr. Cobb!" The Extractor turned and took a good look at the girl. The Team turned as well at his name.

"Isn't that the girl you almost hit?" Eames asked Arthur.  
>Mr. Cobb, I have information you need!" The girl shouted. Cobb approached her and waved the guards away.<br>"Information about what?" He asked. The girl sighed and looked exhausted.

"Information about what Cobol plans to do with the PASIV-4." She said dully.

~ In a small but clean little restaurant in a busy part of the city, Saito, Eames, Arthur, Ariadne, and Cobb sat with the Teenage Girl as she ate greedily from the plates of food.

"I like Chinese food better." She stated curtly.

The Team watched her in silence. Her race was impossible to determine. Like all young people of the modern world she looked to have ancestry from all corners of the globe. Her accent, likewise difficult to ascertain.

"Why don't you start by telling us your name?" Arthur said coldly. He had doubted from the first this girl's claim. But her knowledge of the new device, this PASIV-4, had convinced Cobb and Saito.

"Sybil.*" Said said in between bites.

"Were are you from?" Ariadne asked. Sybil shrugged.

"I'm kinda a citizen of the world." She said.

Arthur huffed a laugh. Sybil fit the bill of an elusive gypsy. The mix matched clothes, streaks of blue and pink running in her dyed black hair, gaudy costume jewelry and heavy black eye liner.

"Where are your parents?" Ariadne asked.

"Gone." Sybil said. "I make out alright on my own. I'm eighteen." She added.

Ariadne and the Team looked at her doubtfully.

"Alright I'm thirteen." She said guiltily.

"Why don't you tell us about Cobol?" Saito said. Annoyed this girl slighted Japanese cuisine in favor of Chinese.

Sybil pulled out of her heavily marked up bag a series of envelopes.

"I knew you people would be the ones to go to with this. You broke her and that Australian Forger out."

She said pointing her spoon at Ariadne.

"That you would be able to stop Cobol from creating a race of mindless zombies using there new toy. They plan on using it to plant ideas of paranoia and war into world leaders. People make a lot of money during war time. Selling weapons and gaining new territory. Taking advantage of people who have lost everything. Oldest story in the book." She went back to eating. The Team pulled free tattered reports with TOP SECRET stamped boldly in red across each page.  
>"How did you get all of this?" Arthur asked finally.<p>

"Let's just say I had an 'in' with Cobol." Sybil said smugly.

"Let's _not_ say that." Arthur said harshly. "How can you expect us to believe anything you say when you can't tell us where you got the information?"

The Team looked at Sybil who glared daggers at Arthur.

"Because my Dad was an Extractor. He worked for Cobol." The Teenage Girl gave the Architect a hard look. "You may have known him as 'Jim'." She finished finally.

_* Sybil, Greek, A prophetess_


	11. Chapter 11

Suspicion and Desire

"_The Sibyl, with frenzied mouth uttering things not to be laughed at, _

_unadorned and unperfumed, _

_yet reaches to a thousand years with her voice by aid of the Gods."_

_Heraculiatis_

~ Night had fallen over the city. The Team was back at Ariadne's apartment and had broken there normal ritual of a cozy dinner with Cobb and his children in light of their unexpected guest. In a small but comfortable guest room, the Point Man turned over the Teenage Girl's bag onto the neatly made bed.

"What are your doing?" Sybil cried snatching her now gutted bag away from him.

"If your going to stay here, stay with _us_, we have to make sure your not carrying any weapons or anything that you can tattle our location to Cobol with. Cell phones and the like." Arthur said looking over the bizarre collection of lip gloss, pens, colorful foreign currency, and other teenage trappings.

Her possessions were scarce and road worn. Arthur almost felt bad to think this girl had been living as she claimed on the run for three months with only these small amounts of personal effects. He spotted a worn out nail file and quickly seized it. At least his intrusion hadn't been for nothing. As he was leaving he deftly unhooked the phone from the side table and took it with him.

~ Out in the living room the team waited for him.  
>"We can't trust this girl." Eames said sadly. "We were the ones who turned her Dad's brains to scrambled eggs.<p>

"No cell phone on her." Arthur said putting the phone in Ariadne's dark room.

"From what she told us, her Dad was less then kind to her." Ariadne said.

"From what she _tells_ us." Arthur said. "She had no passport." He added.

Eames chuckled.

"We _really_ can't trust this girl." The Forger said.

"The information she has provided is being looked over by my engineers right now." Saito said. "So far all of it appears very valid."

"This is the oldest game in the book." Arthur said. "A Trojan Horse. Lure us in with false information. False leads that will get all of us killed. Cobol is behind this." He pointed at the closed door of the guest room. "She is working for them."

"Sybil didn't have to tell us about her Father." Ariadne said rubbing the back of her neck. "According to her, she lived with him after her mother passed and was privy to his work information."

"So what?" Arthur asked "Why track us down and betray her Dad's work? Because she didn't like him?"

"I think it's more to it then that." Cobb said. The Team looked at the Extractor. "She seems like a bright kid. Maybe she realized what Cobol was doing and took a chance to stop it."  
>"To take a leap of faith that we would help her." Saito said in a far off voice. Cobb nodded.<p>

Eames turned around in disgusted aggravation.

"Goodnight Ladies." He called. "I'll be sleeping with my boots on in case Cobol decides to roll in."

The Forger left the apartment and Saito silently made his exit as well.

"We can question her more in the morning." Cobb told the Architect. "Let her get a shower and a good nights sleep. She looked like she needs both." Ariadne nodded sadly at the Extractor. As she watched Cobb leave Arthur leaned close to her ear.

"I'm staying here tonight." He whispered.

~ Ariadne did not question Arthur's plans to stay over. The presence of this strange girl changed things for the team, and for the two of them. No flirtations were cast between the two of them after the kidnapping and Arthur feared that he had lost an edge with the Architect. He always joined her on the weekends for her photography field trips. They were nice times where the pair shared lots of walking and polite conversions. Her 'brothers' comment this morning had made him feel he had entered a 'friend zone' with the Architect.

He didn't want to be her friend.

~ "I brought you a change of clothes." Ariadne said to Sybil. "I think these will fit."

Sybil greedily looked over the bohemian style tops and pants the Architect put on the bed.  
>"Nice." She said nodding her approval. "Your not as grumpy as your boyfriend." she commented. Ariadne smiled and didn't correct the her.<p>

"The shower's in there." she pointed to the Jack and Jill bathroom that attached itself to her room. "You can use my stuff to get cleaned up." She added.

"I don't blame you." Sybil said suddenly. "My Dad was not a great guy. When I saw what he was planing... I was almost glad... when he was gone."

The Girl shrugged as she pulled out a small gray item from her pocket.

"Whenever he would put me under, it felt warm and safe. Kinda like this place is. But that world wasn't real. " She looked at the small item. "I'm glad this place is real."

"What is that?" Ariadne asked nodding at the item. Sybil held it up for the Architect to see.

"I found it in India a long time ago. It's Ganesha." Sybil told her. "My totem." The Girl looked at the gray and worn elephant.  
>"Your father allowed you to go into dreams with the PASIV?" Ariadne asked horrified.<p>

Sybil nodded.

"Well, he didn't _allow_ me." The Girl said. She looked up with a sigh. "Gotta prefect your method somehow right?"

Ariadne only nodded and left the room. Arthur was making up a sleeping pallet on the sofa as Ariadne crossed over to her room.

"Our guest getting ready for bed?" He asked sarcastically. Her answered by shutting her bedroom door on him.

~It was past midnight when she heard a soft knock on her door. She had barely slept with the news of Cobol and Sybil's appearance. The Girl had not made a peep since running a shower and turning off her lights.

The Architect opened her bedroom door to see the Point Man.

"I'm sorry." He said simply. Ariadne realized she had never see Arthur with his hair not smoothed back. It was messed over his forehead in nice brown waves. It gave him a very boyish look. But his eyes and face belied the man he was.

Arthur's strong hand gently took hold of her arm. She wanted him to kiss her then. Felt _he_ wanted to kiss her. With all the repressed passion they had felt since their arrival in Japan. In the dark and still apartment. Her bed only a few feet away.

Ages seemed to pass as they just looked at each other. Finally, Arthur turned away and went back to his bed on the sofa. Ariadne tried to grab at his hand but he moved away from her too quickly.

She shut her door again and crawled back into her bed. The moment seemed too right. Why hadn't he made his move? He had been so bold and confident with her before the kidnapping. Now, it seemed like he treated her like something fragile. She laid on her side and tried to content herself with her usual comfort. She imagined he was in her bed. With his strong body next to hers, his arms around her.

The same fantasy that comforted her during her kidnapping comforted her now. She imagined his long body curled up beside hers. His breath on her neck. Whispering kind, loving things. She imagined Arthur's hands roaming over her body. Bringing it to life.

Felt the kiss the real Arthur denied her. Her hands moved to her breasts as she agitated her nipples. Bringing them to hard peaks. Her hips moving with a movement of a made up lover. Her hands moving to her sex, feeling her dampness there. Wishing it was Arthur who was doing this. Knowing he would excite her fully. An irrational thought of going to him crossed her mind.

He was just a man, he wouldn't deny her. It was impossible.

Ariadne sat up suddenly. Her lust forgotten for a moment as she took in the emptiness of her little room. Her bed, lonely. Large frustrated tears rolled down her cheeks.

~ Arthur entertained no comforts. It was clear Ariadne didn't feel that way about him. The kidnapping had changed how she felt about him maybe. Their association had been so new when it happened. What was one stolen kiss in a dream anyway? It wasn't anything solid. It wasn't anything she could have drawn comfort from in those months she was stolen from him. He had told her in the hospital that day they went home, that he would never...

"Arthur?" came Ariadne's voice. The Point Man sat up abruptly and turned around. She was standing in the door frame to her room. She looked beautiful in her casual night clothes.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Saito just called." She said "The Australian Extraction Team just landed in Hong Kong. He said all of the team members are unresponsive. It looks like they were victims of the new PASIV-4."


	12. Chapter 12

Friend Zone

"_Came but for friendship, and took away love"_

_Thomas Moore_

"I think it's best not to wake them before dawn. Let them get some rest." Ariadne said as Arthur abandoned his makeshift bed for the night.  
>"Braker." Was all he said as he approached her door.<p>

She nodded. Her eyes welled up with tears.

Then his lips were on hers.

Wasting no time, his mouth danced perfectly in sync to hers as his long frame bent over her petite form. His large hands held her face, her hair, her back as she returned his soft but pressing kiss. When she pulled away, they were both breathing hard.

"You don't have to sleep on the couch." She whispered. Her cheeks flushing red.

Both of them shy, they retired to her bed. Her bed was comfortable and warm as Arthur heard the rain start to fall again.

"We don't have to do anything." He promised as he curled his body against hers. Spooning her. His nose buried into her dark tresses.

She smelled of raw lavender. A rich, earthy female sent that made him doubt he could keep his promise not to compromise her. Her little body was warm against his. It fit comfortable in his arms. He could lie like this forever.

Ariadne wouldn't allow that. Boldly, she sat up out of his arms. To his delighted surprise, she shed her top. The light of the city coming through her window on her perfect, naked skin. He couldn't take his eyes off her bare back. As she turned back to him, her face slightly hesitant, he arms concealed her exposed breasts.

He swallowed hard as she curled back into his arms. This time facing him. His hands on her bare back. He tried to keep his eyes on her face, not on her exposed chest.

Ever the gentleman, Arthur found himself covering her up with the bed spread.

"We don't want you to get cold." He said feebly.

She giggled and her face blushed.

"Your blushing." She teased.

"So are you." He counted. A smile coming over him.

"You look so much nicer when you smile." She observed. "I like it."

"I'll try to smile more often." He offered.

A fearlessness seized him then. He sat up and removed the T-shirt he was sleeping in. She was smiling as he pulled her close to him. The contact of her skin on his was bliss. Her warmth on him was electric. He didn't concentrate on the feel of her breasts on his chest, only the feel of her skin. He kissed her chastely on the lips as she saw her eyes grown heavy.

"Tired?" He asked. Her arms around his a small smile across her lips.

"A little." She answered.

"Go to sleep." he told her softly. Kissing her forehead. "We have a busy day in the morning."

"You'll stay?" She asked.

"I'm not going anywhere." He assured her.

~ If the situation surrounding them had not been so serious, Arthur might have called this heaven. Both of them were too tried from the day to engage in much more then chaste kissing and holding that night. But it held the promise... of something. He held her that night till sleep came and stole them both.

~ Like a greedy child after candy, morning came harsh and angry. Sybil was up early and raiding the Architect's pantry when Eames strolled in.

"Morning." He said stiffly to the Girl.

"You have your own key or something?" She asked in a catty tone.

"Yes." Eames said mockingly "We all do. It's what friends do Little One."

Sybil shrugged with indifference.

"She still asleep then?" The Forger asked.

"I guess they both are." Sybil replied eating her toast with generous amounts of jam.

The Forger's eyebrows raised suddenly. He didn't have long to wait as the Architect's door opened and Arthur came out looking tied and hair tousled.

"Morning Darling." Eames said with a wide smile.

Arthur sighed. The last person in the world he wanted to see him coming out of Ariadne's room was the Forger.

"Watch her." The Point Man said pointing at the Girl. "I'll be ready in a few... Ariadne is in the shower." He pointed to her door.

"A shower? Bravo Mate." Eames said with a horrid Cheshire Cat smile.

"Not now Eames." Arthur said flatly. "Something has happened with the Australian Team. I'll let her tell you and Cobb." He said before leaving. The Forger gave a low whistle and found his face was hurting from smiling so much.

"What was all _that_ about?" Sybil asked

"Nothing." Eames snapped. "Shut up and eat your toast."

~ Eames and Sybil said nothing about Arthur to Cobb when he arrived, or Ariadne when she came out. She explained to them about Saito's late night call. The situation was too grave for the Forger to make fun. He would have his fun. He decided, just have to wait. Arthur turned up soon fresh for the day.

"So were going to Hong Kong?" Sybil asked. Her eyes lighting up.

"Looks like you can get some of your kinda food after all." Eames teased.

"She'll need a passport." Arthur said not meeting Ariadne's eyes.

"No problem." Cobb said. "Saito was already on it when he left. Just have to make a quick stop at his office before the airport."

The Team was always prepared for a quick trip anywhere. They each had per-packed bags waiting for them in a closet with money, passports and a disposable cell phone. Ariadne's kidnapping had proven the need for speed in vacating a place.

~ Within a hours time the six of them, Saito and Sybil include, were in the air to China.

Hong Kong was busy and bursting with people. It had a different feel then Tokyo yet, somethings were the same as New York or London. A modern city was a modern city. Such things were true all over the world.

"If the PASIV-4 did this to your friends," Sybil was saying as the cab/van drove them to the hospital "Then they can't come back."

"We know that." Cobb said. "But these guys helped us out not too long ago and we don't forget that."

Cobb was remembering the Australian Team's role in freeing not only there Forger but Ariadne as well.

"They helped you guys get her out?" Sybil asked nodding to the Architect. Cobb nodded.

"Probably why their in trouble now." Eames said shaking his head. "For all we know, the Little One here was with the Australians, before she found us." Sybil shot an ugly at the Forger. "She may be responsible for what happened." Eames added.

"I don't even _know_ them." Sybil said defensively.  
>"Braker and his Team were coming in from Sydney. We think they were drugged and an attempted extraction or inception occurred. When the extractors got what they wanted. They unhooked the PASIV-4 and left their minds to rot." Saito told them.<br>"God only knows what information the Australian team gave them." Arthur said.

"Our location." Ariadne added.

"No," Cobb said defensively. "They were trained to fend off extractions. Their subconscious is militarized. I'm betting that Cobol wasn't able to gain anything from them and that's why they left them."  
>"Mr. Cobb," Saito said softly. "If Cobol dose know your location, your family..."<p>

"Kids are going to stay at a friends house after school." Cobb said "After that, we can go with your plan." He nodded at Saito.

The Team didn't ask about the plan Saito had for Cobb's two young children. With Sybil present it was best not to revel to much.

~ Braker looked well enough. Ariadne was afraid when she came he would be bed ridden and on breathing tubes. But he was dressed and in a wheelchair mumbling softly.

"Braker?" She asked softly kneeling down beside him. Only a few hours after the PASIV-4 violation the once strong energetic man now seemed so fragile.

"Braker? It's Ariadne." She said running a hand over his arm. She looked into his unfocused eyes.

"The drugs used are similar to what Mr. Fedor was exposed to." Came a familiar female voice.

"Doctor Yori." Saito said fondly as he shook her hand. The Team managed weak smiles at the doctor who brought Ariadne and Braker back from the depths of powerful dream manipulation. It was her that helped Ariadne realize the lies Cobol told her and come back to reality.

"Can Braker come back?" The Architect asked the Doctor.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before. We don't know how to begin treatment. The drugs used are out of his system, but they have had a cascading effect in the brain." Yori said carefully.

"Take them to Japan." Saito said "You can run tests better from there."

"We can't." She told Saito. "Australian government will be here soon to reclaim them."  
>"Your the best at treating this kind of thing." Ariadne said feeling helpless to help the man who had risked so much to save her.<p>

"They will not allow me to." Yori said. The Doctor made a quick look over her shoulder before handing Saito a folder. "A copy of their lab results. You need to leave now. The authorities are aware that dream extraction was involved. They will be looking for you."

~ "So that was Doctor Yori?" Sybil asked as the Team headed to a waiting mini-van cab.

No one said anything to the Girl. Sybil climbed into the cab next to Arthur and as the cab pulled away from the hospital.

"I only ask because COBAL had a file on _her_ as well as all of you." The Girl added casually.


	13. Chapter 13

Devil's Rain

_A brave man is a man who dares to look the Devil in the face and tell him he is a Devil. _

_James R. Garfield_

~ "Yuseff. Come on old man, pick up." Eames said as the cab lurched towards the airport. The heavens had opened up at it was raining heavily while the sun was still shining.

_ Devil's Rain_ Ariadne thought.

"Did you see any other people in Cobol's files?" The Architect asked Sybil.

"Doctor Yori, all of you, and your Chemist from the Fischer Inception." The Girl said.

Saito also had his phone glued to his ear speaking harsh Japanese to Doctor Yori. Ariadne was listening as he said the names of Cobb's children. Her tentative understanding of Japanese told her Saito and Yori shared very intimate things. That he and Cobb were trusting Yori to secure James and Phillipa away from Cobol.

"Yuseff is not picking up." Eames said shaking his head. "Have you been in Mombasa Little One?" He added casting a glare at Sybil.

~ The flight back to Japan was on Saito's airline and promised a safe trip home. Inside the comfortable first class seating, the Team said nothing as the plane gained altitude and leveled out.  
>"Have to pee." Sybil said taking off her seat belt and going to the bathroom as soon as the light clicked off.<p>

"How are we going to find whoever did this to Braker?" Ariadne asked to no one in particular.

"We can't run." Arthur said. "We run and they win."

Cobb nodded.

"We'll have to let them come to us." The Extractor said.

~Inside the always cramped airplane bathroom, Sybil did her business and took her time washing her hands. Perhaps it was not a good idea to seek out Cobb and his people. They were growing suspicious of her. Blaming her for the Australians.

Maybe she should lose them in Tokyo.

It was when she was thinking these things she heard thuds. Like a frightened animal, she crouched down and tried to remain still. She heard sharp male voices. Sybil risked peeping out the bathroom door to see the Team in first class. Only they were not alone. Men in suit wearing gas masks were there. They were shaking Cobb and Arthur, seeing if they would wake up. Sybil held her hand to her mouth to hold back the terror rising. Cobol's men. Had to be.

"Air is safe." said one man pulling off his mask.

'Gas.' Sybil thought.

That was how the Australian Team was taken into the dream. On a plane in the air just like now. Helpless.

"What did I tell you?" Another man said. "All of them here. Saito adds a nice touch." The men were hooking the Team to the PASIV-4.

"All were missing now is their Chemist." the Third man said.

"He can't run forever." The first man answered. Two of them were going to take Cobb and the Team into the dream. The third was staying out to control the PASIV-4.

"Remember get the information on Saito's expansion plan and get out. We leave them out to dry like the Australians." The Control said.

A hissing of the PASIV-4 as the Team was pulled under. Then, it was very silent.

Sybil felt a panic. What should she do? She couldn't fight that man. She dared to peek out of her hiding place again to see the Control looking bored. She also saw in delight he had left his gun with a silencer attached beside the device. It was the height of arrogance. Leaving your loaded weapon like that. She could make a diversion, grab it and shoot him.

She couldn't hide here. The Team, even now was mired deep in a dream that could prove fatal. Sybil crawled out of the bathroom silently and crouched in the first class galley. She looked around for something to throw. Her eye caught a metal cup that would cause a loud noise. She tossed it to the other end of the galley and it made a loud _clank._

Taking the bait, the Control left the device and more importantly, the gun to investigate the noise. Sybil didn't hesitate. She bolted into the cabin and grabbed the weapon.

"Hey!" Came an angry shout. Sybil fired two shots and the Control slumped neatly to the floor.

The Girl was shocked at how quick and neat it had been. She had never even killed a projection before and this was _real_. Fear had in turn given her courage to forget the dead man and try to help the Team. She grabbed a hold of Eames and shook him hard.

"Wake up!" She shouted. The Forger's eyes battered back and forth, deep in REM sleep.

Sybil resorted to tugging him out of his seat to give him his own kick. He was far too heavy for her so she resorted to using the cabin's wall as leverage and her feet to push him off.

"Oh! You fat ass!" she cried as he finally slid to the floor. The Brit just fell out of his seat and didn't wake. She threw water on him then, slapped him hard on the face. Eames didn't even stir. Then she knew.

Only one way to get the team back out.

Cobol's men were hooked up to the device. One of them was the dreamer. She could not venture into the dream with Cobol's men there controlling it. It was too dangerous. The PASIV-4 would hold a dream together even _after_ the dreamer woke. Not for long, but long enough. Sybil took Cobol's men off the device manually.

They both woke up and looked glassy eyed to the world. Gone.

She quickly wrapped the white bracelet with the IV support across her wrist and sat down next to the device. She took a long look at her worn gray Ganesha before falling into the dream.


	14. Chapter 14

Fading

_"A person starts dying, when they stop dreaming." _

_Brian Williams_

With no idea what might be found in this dream Sybil awoke to find herself in a small apartment with pretty blue toile wallpaper. The Architect was sitting on a bed. In colorful little vases, fresh flowers stood.

"What are you doing here?" Ariadne asked Sybil. The Architect seemed very calm. Too calm.

"Ariadne." Sybil started but stopped as the Architect pointed at the flowers.

"I thought Arthur would like these flowers." She said mildly. Sybil started to take a step forward and stepped on broken glass and crushed flowers.

"They did that." Ariadne said sadly. "When they took me. I haven't been back to this apartment since." She looked at Sybil and sighed.

"You were never here." The Architect said finally.

It was so slight Sybil almost didn't see it. The walls shook a little. Making the fashionable prints on the walls waver. With the PASIV-4, when the dream finally collapsed, it would trap their minds forever.  
>"Ariadne, this isn't real." Sybil finally said. "You and the Team have been pulled into this dream."<p>

"I know." Ariadne said sadly as she stood up. "I was waiting for someone. I should have invited Arthur in, that night at the hotel." She smiled softly. "We could have made love all night. He could have come back to Paris with me. I never would have been taken."

The Architect looked sad.

"Now... I don't know where we are now." She admitted.

"We don't have time for this!" Sybil cried suddenly as the walls shook again. She still had to get the rest of the Team out.

She had willed it. And it became real. The gun she used for the Control man. She plucked it up and pulled out her totem, she had to be sure.

It gleamed in gold and rubies. Nothing at all like the plain pewter Ganesha she had in the waking world. She took a deep breath and shot the Architect in the head, forcing Ariadne out of the dream.

The walls still shook and Sybil ran from the French apartment to the hall. How could she find the others?

In the dream, it seemed what she wanted to find, _who_ she wanted to find, was an easy thing. Saito and Yori appeared in the hallway. They were talking to each other and Saito was running his hand though her long dark hair. They both looked up at her then.

"Sorry!" Sybil called out and shot.

Saito collapsed on the floor as Yori screamed and ran towards her but the Girl shot her and the projection of the Doctor crumbled and was still.

Sybil ran down the hall to find Eames at a poker table. This was more complicated. He was surrounded by projections in the form of other gamblers. The moment she shot him, they would come after her.

The dream was collapsing. Slower then was normal, but if she didn't wake them all up soon, they would be lost. Sybil took aim at the Forger just as he looked up. He was about to say something when she shot him in the head. The projections closed in.

The Girl fled from the hall into a garden only to find Cobb. He was sitting outside with a very slim and pretty lady and two small children.

'Right, his family' she thought.

The projections were right behind her and she had no time. Cobb stood up and looked at her strangely before she fired. The slim and pretty woman was on her then. Hitting her and pulling at her hair. Sybil shot her and she went down.

She had to find Arthur now. The buildings were starting to crumble as the dream slowly faded around her. Her gut instinct led her to an opened door which she banged shut behind her. The projections didn't follow but the walls were shaking.

She looked around and saw the Point Man standing in the hall. The wall paper was peeling and fading right before her eyes.

Sybil raised her gun but before she could shot Arthur had easily twisted her hand away and pried her weapon free. She cried out in pain and he finally let go. He pointed the gun downward and turned his attention back to a door.  
>"I thought about barging in." He said. "But she might have been mad." He smiled slightly. "It was so easy... before. If I had only gone to Paris earlier, I could have prevented all of this." The Point Man said blankly.<p>

"Arthur," Sybil said "Look at me. This isn't real."

The Point Man fixed an angry look at the Girl.

"We could have spent the whole day in bed." He said absentmindedly. "Then, when those men came, I wouldn't have let them hurt her. I would have killed them."

"Look around!" She shouted. "This world is not real! We have to wake up!"

The Walls were starting to decay. Arthur put a hand on the door. She and Arthur would be trapped. She was in just as much danger as he was.

"Arthur!" Sybil screamed as the walls fell away. "Ariadne is out already! She is out and waiting for you! PLEASE!"

The dream was fading away as Arthur raised the gun and shot Sybil in the head.

Sybil gasped with the shock of coming out of the dream in such a harsh way. Her totem was still clutched in her hand. She looked at it. Dull and cheap as ever. She was out.

Sybil looked over the first class cabin to see Ariadne, breathing hard but wide awake.

"What happened?" came the gruff voice of Saito.

"Cobol's men." Sybil said pointing to the husks of humans now drooling on themselves.

Cobb stood and looked them over. Sybil suddenly remembered Arthur. She turned around to find the Point Man looking dazed and angry, but awake.

He did what needed to be done in the end.

"Sybil?" Ariadne said coming to kneel beside her. "Are you alright?" Sybil nodded

"Why am I on the floor?" came the Forger's voice as he started to sit up.

He felt the front of his shirt.

"Why am I _wet_?" He asked. Sybil almost laughed.

"You need to lose some weight." She told him.

~ The plane landed in Tokyo and Saito's privet security was there. With discretion, the plane was searched. All the passengers except for Cobol's men were cleared. The now catatonic extractors were led off the plane and into waiting ambulances.

"What will happen to them?" Sybil asked Saito.

"Nothing." Saito said indifferently.

~ On the tarmac, waiting for the ambulances to take the comatose extractors away, Arthur pulled Sybil aside.

"I'm sorry." He said to her. "For suspecting you."

The Girl shrugged. Pretending not to care.

"It's alright, I understand." Sybil told him.

"No, it's not alright." Arthur said. "You came to find us. To help us. Thank you."

"Your welcome."

"Listen." Arthur said casting a nervous glance at Ariadne. She was talking with Cobb and Eames. "About what you saw in the Dream. What I may have said. There are some things, that are privet with adults." The Point Man stammered.

"Oh don't I know it." Sybil laughed.

She thought up a lie and decided to play her bluff.

"You should have seen _Ariadne's_ dream." She leaned into Arthur, like she was telling a secret.

"She was in bed with a projection of you. _Naked_ and everything!" Sybil said, pretending to be shocked and embarrassed. "I mean, I know she likes you, but I didn't know that much."

Her voice was childlike and innocent.

Arthur cleared his throat and blushed.

"Best not to tell her I know about that. We don't want to embarrass her."

"Okay." Sybil nodded making her eyes go wide and even more innocent. Trusting Arthur's judgment.

~ "What are you up to Little One?" Eames asked with a smile as the Point Man left her.

"Not now, I'm plotting." Sybil scolded him.

"Plotting what?" He asked.

"You'll see."

~"What were you and Arthur talking about?" Ariadne asked as both women were in the ladies room as they waited for the plane ride home.

"Oh that!" Sybil said rolling her eyes. "He is _so_ boring. All he ever does is talk about you."

"Well... I mean... what does he say?" Ariadne asked.

"Just how pretty he thinks you are. How smart you are. How glad he is your alright. You know how I found him in the dream right?" Sybil asked casually washing her hands.

"How?" Ariadne asked. Trying to sound indifferent.

"It was _way_ domestic." Sybil told her. As if disgusted. "He had this projection of you in a house, with kids running around. Totally doing the mommy and daddy thing. I almost threw up. Glad it was just a dream." Sybil said casting a quick glance at the Architect.

Ariadne was nodding. Looking lost in thought.


	15. Chapter 15

Plans, Rituals and Endings

"_True love stories never have endings."  
>Richard Bach<em>

~ "Another one bites the dust." Eames said with a grin. It was a few days after the Team had come back from Hong Kong.

A Saturday.

Everyone was in a good mood as the Team, Sybil, Doctor Yori, Saito, James and Phillipa were all at Ariadne's apartment preparing for a nice dinner.

Sybil was helping Yori cook as Ariadne was showing Saito her photographs of the overgrown temple. Cobb was silently watching his two children play. Eames and Arthur were watching a Japanese game show on Ariadne's T.V.

"I never get tired of this show" Eames laughed as another poor contested tried to run a hopeless race around a maze. "I'll really miss it." Eames sighed.

Plans had been made. Flights booked. The Team was leaving in the morning. Cobb was enjoying one last perfect day with his children and his extended family.

"I don't see why I can't come with you guys." Sybil said in a pout. "I think I've proven myself. I can be of use."

"That's not why your staying." Ariadne said looking at the Girl. "You have school. You need some kind of structure. A normal life."

"Normalcy is _way_ over rated." Sybil retorted.

Doctor Yori laughed. She and Saito had offered to look after Cobb's children as well as Sybil while the team went to look for Yuseff. Cobol still had not found him and Eames had a few good leads to the Chemist.

They were leaving in the morning to locate him. As for Braker and the Australian Team, Yori was working on a treatment to bring them out of the daze the PASIV-4 left them in. She seemed hopeful. The Team had recovered another PASIV-4 device and hoped it would dent Cobol's plans to lose yet another Extraction Team, and yet another device. They knew, of course, it would only make Cobol more determined to get at Cobb and the rest .

Arthur grew tried of the pointless game show and in an unspoken male instinct, sensed dinner was ready and came to the table. Eames snapped off the T.V. As Sybil and Yori laid out the going away feast. Saito put a hand on Yori's back and gazed down at her very adoringly.

"You said I would never use a table seating for ten." Ariadne smiled at Arthur. The Point Man smiled back.  
>"I said I didn't think we would have enough people for a table of ten." he gently corrected. James and Phillipa took their seat next to Sybil and everyone looked up at Cobb who sat at the head of the table. It felt like something needed to be said then. No one was quite sure what. Cobb looked at the faces of his dear friends and his children.<br>"I am grateful." He said simply.

~ It was a wonderful dinner. Wonderful friends. Saito and Yori took Sybil back with them. Her first day at school was in the morning, new identity and everything. Cobb took his kids back to his apartment and had the luxury of putting them to bed one last time before the trip. Eames made a swift exit that no one noticed.

Arthur and Ariadne were alone again.

"Eames and I were wrong about Sybil." The Point Man noted as he helped the Architect wash the dishes.

The small domestic act of cleaning was easy for the couple. It was normal.  
>"We were all wrong about her." She said rinsing the plate he handed her. "You know, I think that girl purposely dirtied every dish in the house <em>knowing<em> we would be doing the washing." She said with a scowl worthy of Cobb.

"She really saved us in the dream." Arthur said quietly. "I didn't exactly open arms to her."

"We had every reason not to trust her. She knows that." Ariadne said.

The Architect let the water run and gazed at it, almost hypnotized.

"In the dream, I was in my apartment back in Paris." She said suddenly.

"I know, Sybil told me." Arthur said blushing. Thinking about the Architect's lustful dream.

Ariadne nodded, thinking of what really happened, her _alone_ in her apartment.

"I wish you had been there." She said softly.  
>"I wish I had been there to." He admitted. Embarrassed. "You know, we never got to finish what we started last night." Arthur said with a smile.<p>

"We didn't did we?" Ariadne said playfully.

Arthur saw his opportunity and took it. He leaned down to meet her soft, full lips. The kiss was simple and comfortable. When he pulled away she was smiling at him.

"I was wondering when you were going to make a move." She said.

He smiled down at her and ran his hands though her hair bringing her face up to him again kissing her more passionately this time.

"Why did _I_ have to be the one to make the move?" He said with a laugh.

She giggled as he pulled her close.

"Your a modern 21st century woman. You could have made a move." She didn't have time to lecture him about proper courtship rituals because the Point Man quickly swept her up into his arms.

Ariadne held back a small scream of delight to be off the ground. Her face was level with his suddenly and she had no fear he would drop her. He was much stronger then he looked. She smiled and warped her arms around his neck.

"I was worried you thought of me like a brother." He admitted still holding her with ease.

"No, just Cobb and Eames." She laughed. "When you kissed me in the hotel... I..." She started but didn't know how to finish.

"What?" He asked.

"I was... impressed." She said failing to find a better word. He laughed.

"When you took your top off the other night, _I_ was impressed." He admitted.

She blushed.

"I can't believe I did that." She said. Her hand going to cover her face.

"You were beautiful." He told her.

"Is there anything else I can do to impress you?" He asked.

"I don't know." She teased. "Is there?"

She kissed him softly, felt his breath on her. He said nothing as he took her to her bedroom and lightly put her down.

She couldn't stop herself from tugging at his tie, his vest, his shirt. Arthur allowed her to remove his clothes with reckless abandonment but took his time in taking hers off. It was with the greatest of care and deliberate slowness he exposed her body. Her modesty forced her to hold her hands over naked breasts but he would not allow it.

Her body was beautiful. Her breasts, waist and hips a perfect fit for her small frame. She was soft and responsive to his touch. The contact of skin on skin was thrilling. Electric. Warm.

"I've wanted this for so long." He admitted as she helped him shed the last of her clothing.

"How long?" She breathed as his kiss assaulted her neck. He chuckled.

"To be honest, the first time I saw you go into the dream. You were sleeping so peaceful." he told he moving her onto the bed. "Then, when you yelled at Cobb. When you stormed out. I was really hoping you would come back." He smiled.

So much more handsome when he smiled.

Totally naked now, she was helpless before him.

"I wanted you, when I saw you protect me from those projections." She admitted as he pulled off his slacks.

He was on top of her then. Not wasting any more time. His body felt so good on top of hers.

Arthur still wore boxers and the friction of the fabric on her sex, the feel of his hardness between her legs, was more the pleasurable. His subtle grinding. Making her hips move with his.

She didn't need to ask him to use protection. He swiftly abandoned her body as he retrieved a condom from his slacks.

She made no attempt to cover up. She lay there, letting the cool air rush over her. She liked feeling her naked body, exposed on the bed.

When her returned to her, she felt his hands go between her legs. Felt herself growing excited for him. He rubbed her. Hard and fast, barely penetrating her sex. She found herself squirming as her hands went to her own breast. Arthur's lips were on her nipples then. His hand never leaving their possessive spot that was growing hotter and wetter with his work.

"Arthur, please." She managed to say when she could feel her desire growing to a frenzy.

Her new lover understood. He waster no time in at all in mounting her. A firm yet easy thrust in and he was grinding his hips in time with hers. His lips never once leaving hers.

For a long time, Ariadne was lost in their kissing. Not as focused on their love making. Somehow, that was more intimate. He was a great kisser. Warm and comforting. His lips were soft and firm. He never broke off as his lips mated with hers.

Their copulation was in no way carnal. Their romance was still to new. It was more then sex. It was enough now to discover each other. Slowly and tenderly.

~ Later, the new lovers talked for a long while. She, admitting things to him she never would have done just hours before. He, relaxed and happy. Contentment. They slept heavily and woke early the next morning to feelings of energy and hope that only sleeping in lovers arms can bring.

~ Early morning, Arthur left his Lady's apartment to shower in his own home and to not raise Cobb's or Eames's suspicion.

It was a wonder to both of them that Cobb did not see. That no one seemed to see the looks Arthur gave her. See the constant blush on Ariadne's neck and face.

If the the rest of the Team saw anything, they said nothing. The matter of Yuseff and Cobol was far too pressing for any diversion.


	16. Chapter 16

The Story

"_Some stories are true that never happened."_

_Elie Wiesel_

**Tokyo**

~ Doctor Yori opened the mail box and was pleased to see a large brown envelope. It would be for the children of course. Their Father and the Team's way of telling them everything was alright. The return address read simply

_Ariadne_.

Saito, worked even when he was at home. He had been a bachelor all his life and had planed to remain so. He never had any desire to change his life for a wife and children. But Yori had been an unexpected surprise. She had made it easy for him to leave his work, at work. To come home to a meal, to enjoy domestic life.

The presence of Cobb's Children as well as Sybil had made life different, but in a good way. The blended family had all been living together in an elegant house outside of Tokyo for three months now.

Ever since Cobb and his Team went to search for Yuseff and stop Cobol.

"Story for the children arrived today." Yori told Saito that evening when he came home. The Business Man smiled and kissed her.

They were living under assumed names in a tightly gated community. The same kind of home security important dignitaries had. At home, Saito and Yori didn't bother with English. The children had picked up Japanese very quickly and Sybil had no trouble understanding them.

"Have they already eaten?" Saito asked. Yori nodded.  
>"Sybil is in her room pretending to do her homework." Yori said. Saito shook his head.<p>

The now 14 year old Girl was very smart but didn't apply herself in school. She did just fine grade wise without trying very hard. Saito had tried to impress on her the merits of education. Sybil did just enough to get by. Teenagers were frustrating.

~ Yori knocked on James and Phillipa's door. They were still young enough to share a room and it not be awkward for them. In the absence of there Father, the pair derived comfort from each other.

The two children looked up at the Doctor and smiled when she held up the envelope. Their squeals of excitement made Yori smile at the exuberance of youth. Phillipa opened the envelope and took out the book inside. It was a fine leather cover. Professionally bound, but with hand painted water colors inside.

Phillipa handed Yori the book.  
>"Tell us the story." She asked as the pair snuggled into Phillipa's pink bed. Yori complied willingly.<p>

Inside the book, there were no words, only stunning art work done by the Architect. Yori looked at the first drawing. Obviously a man, troubled and angry. Next to him a little boy. She began the story speaking in Japanese.

"Once, there was a great king. He had everything any King could want. Power, wealth and a Son to carry on his name. But the King was greedy and cold to his Son. His Son began to feel the coldness that was in his father." Yori turned the page.

The Heroes

"When the old King died, the Son was a broken spirit. So the Heroes went and found him. One night they crept into the Son's dreams. They whispered things to him.

One of the Heroes changed his shape so the Son would listen to him." A new drawing of dark creatures.

Yori thought.

"But the Son's dreams, were not empty. They were full of evil thoughts. All the anger the Son had at the King were lurking there. The Heroes had to run away from these things. They had to hide."

A picture of a young woman showing a hidden room.

"The Mistress of the Maze*, hid them. She told the Hero's where to hide in the dreams, so the Evil thoughts could not find them. The Heroes still had to battle the Evil Thoughts. They were brave warriors. They showed the Son a truth."

The two children looked at each water color and back at Yori in amazement.

"A truth that all Father's lover their children. The Heroes freed the Son's spirit and he was able to be a whole man. He awoke from the dream and became a better and wiser King to his people then his father was."  
>"What happened to the Heroes?" Phillipa asked in English.<p>

"The Heroes..." Yori said looking at the last water coloring. It showed a landscaped of a crowded city. "The Hero's went to another kingdom. To help another. For that is what Heroes do." She added.

~ Later that night, Yori showed Saito the last picture.  
>"It looks like Morocco." She said to him. He nodded.<p>

It had been a month since Cobb and the others had called. Ariadne's water colors were the only way they knew the Team was still alive. It was the safest way for them. No words, only drawings that they knew to be done by the Architect. Yori sighed and closed the book.

~ Late that night, Sybil was watching T.V alone in her room. Saito and Yori left her mostly to her own schedule. As long as she went to school and kept her grades up.

She was watching a nature program about how when a predator would come to close to the nest, the mother bird would fake an injury so the predator would chase her. She would pretend she couldn't fly and divert the enemy away from the helpless babies.

Yori had told her about the arrival of the book, but Sybil had no interest in the Team. The bitterness at being left behind, had three months to fester. She was thinking that the time had come to leave again.

* Mistress of the Maze, Greek, Myth of Theseus and the Maze. Ariadne in the story is commonly thought to be the mistress of the maze.

* Just FYI the HEROES story is the Fischer Inception.

_My friend and I just saw 50/50. JGL was SOOOO good. Very funny! Loved it. _


	17. Chapter 17

A Diversion

"_All my life, my heart has yearned for a thing I can not name."_

_Andre Breton_

**Morocco**

~ Ariadne had almost completed her latest water coloring. It depicted strange demons chasing the Heroes. She was remembering a job only a few days ago where the projections were extremely hostile. She had painted her demons with horns and red glowing eyes.

"These are for Cobb's kids eh?" Eames asked coming to look over her shoulder.

"Yeah." Ariadne said not taking her eyes off her work.  
>"We are not supposed to be scaring the night shirts off the kids, Ariadne." Eames laughed.<p>

"This part of the story is scary." The Architect countered.

Eames shrugged.

For the past few weeks, the Team had been held up in Morocco. Working jobs and searching for Yuseff. The Chemist had always seemed just out of reach. Cobol had lost his sent but the Team had lost him as well. It was too dangerous to leave Yuseff without safety. The threat of Cobol's PASIV-4 was still very real.

Cobb and Eames had felt that Cobol did sloppy inception work and that the fear of brain washing world leaders was remote. Arthur and Ariadne disagreed. She remembered all to well the lies Cobol made her believe.

The Architect sighed as she finished her painting and cleaned up her work area.

She had a date.

~ Inside the home the Team shared, Ariadne went to find Arthur. The house was nice. Situated in the city of Morocco. The Team had rented it fully furnished. They each had their own small little room upstairs that encircled a large court yard downstairs. With its elaborate center fountain and colorful tile work, the house felt more like a palace then a regular home.

It suited Ariadne's taste very well, but the men preferred something, a little less rustic.

~ Arthur was in his room. He was hooked up to the PASIV device and his eyes battered back and forth rapidly. Ariadne smiled to herself and reached in her pocket for her totem. She had abandoned her bishop after her kidnapping and now favored a small but heavy stone she had found in Japan. It was during one of her weekends with Arthur. She was photographing temples and this piece of shiny, heavy rock had found her. She told no one of her new totem. Which was always best.

She locked the door behind her and hooked herself up.

~ In the dream, she was back in Paris. It was not the Paris she knew. It was a _dream_ of Paris. Not very crowded, sounds were distant and the air felt clean. Ariadne looked down at herself. She was dressed in a simple yet elegant dress. The kind that was fashionable forever.

Arthur's taste.

She found him at an idyllic street cafe. They were the only patrons.

"I was worried you might have stood me up." He smiled. Standing as she approached.

"I was painting." She said coyly as she sat down in the chair he pulled out for her.

Arthur took his seat next to her and captured her small hands in his large ones. He leaned down and kissed her bare shoulder. A wonderful ticklish sensation at the contact of his lips on her skin.

"You look beautiful." He said in a low voice.

She tried to hold back a blush but couldn't. They had kept their new relationship secret from the rest of the Team. It was still to new.

To _fragile_.

Surely Cobb and Eames must have seen. They must see the looks Arthur always cast at her. She could feel Arthur's eyes on her at times. Surely the others could sense something hand changed in the Architect and Point Man.

Arthur kissed her lips softly and pulled away. He looked so handsome in his perfectly tailored tuxedo. The Point Man had not had much chance to dress the way he liked in the horrid heat of Morocco and he seemed to feel better in his chosen style.

"This is wonderful." Ariadne told him.

Arthur smiled. The Point Man was not the best at building worlds in dreams. That was her job. But he had spent the past few days building the details of the Paris Cafe. It was not a perfect replica by any means. It was perfect for them.

They sipped wine and watched the projections of tourists. Enjoying the dream.

"I have a little place for us to go." He whispered. His voice lustful. Wanting only one thing.

She blushed and looked at their clasped hands. So far, the only time they had physically made love was their last night in Japan. The past three months, the Team living so close together, gave them no time or privacy to be together. But in dreams...

Ariadne looked up at him and his lips seized hers.

"I've been thinking about this all day." He muttered.

Not wanting to brake off his gentle assault on her lips. Instinctively she tried to pull away from him, to tease him, but he would have none of that. His large hands puller her body closer to him. His lips and hot breath were over her ear making her gasp.

The _feel_ of the dream was so real. When he finally broke away from her, her breathing was very rapid and heavy with the lust he had started in her.

"Let's go." She whispered.

Arthur nodded and stood up quickly. His arm was circled around her waist as he guided her the short walk to the little room he had prepared for the both of them. Their room was tasteful and romantic.

Ariadne had to smile. She could always tell who's dream she was in by the decorum. Arthur had locked the door behind them and then came up behind her.

His strong arms were around her then and he was taking the liberty of unzipping her dress. His mouth was on her neck and before she even knew what was happening, the simple black dress was pooled at her feet.

Shocked at being undone so quickly Ariadne tried to cover her exposed breasts. Arthur chuckled. He had always found her modestly endearing. He took hold of her hands and turned her around to face him.  
>"I'm sorry Beautiful, can't help it." He said mischievously. The sudden feel of being way over dressed for this particular occasion came over him as he shed his coat and vest. His lover loosened his tie for him as he kicked of his shoes.<p>

"You could have at least dreamed of me wearing panties this time." She said kissing him.

"Never." He said lightly removing the last remnants of clothing. His body was so lean and powerful next to her soft curves.

No need for protection of contraceptives in the dream, Ariadne gave into him. She rode him with reckless abandonment. Her legs straddled his long body. His gaze locked on her breasts moving up and down with her rhythm. Both their bodies, shone with sweat.

~ For the past few months they had cautiously explored the physical aspect of their new relationship, always in dreams. At first, Arthur tried to be the gentleman he thought she would want.

Soon he realized how much she needed the _man_ he was.

Their first coupling had been after months of fear that this romance would never happen. Her kidnapping had thrown them both for a loop. The brainwashing had caused her to question the Team as well as him. While in Japan, Arthur had tried to give her support and was worried he had waited too long to make a move to show her how he felt.

Finally being with this woman was wonderful. She was such a good fit for him.

She was her own person and allowed him to be his own person. His closet friends loved her like a sister and valued her as a Team member. The two of them would have long talks about anything. Often disagreeing but able to put them aside and remain close. She was independent in the real world, but allowed Arthur to take command of her in the dream world only they shared. He was not polite or gentlemanly as he took possession her body each time. These intimate actions had taken on primal aspects.

As dawn broke over the dream Paris. Arthur spooned next to his Lady. Neither had slept, or needed to in the dreams. They enjoyed the bliss of being free of any barriers that were there in the waking world.

"We should tell Cobb." Ariadne said softly. Arthur kissed her arm.

"Why?" He asked.

"I hate keeping this from him. I feel like were doing something wrong." She told him. "It's not as though he can order us not to be together."

"No." Arthur said curtly

"Why not?"

"It's not anyone else business but our own." Arthur explained. "I don't need to explain anything to Cobb or Eames. It's no one else business who I love." The Architect sat up then and turned to meet the Point Man.

"What?" She asked breathlessly.

Arthur sighed and looked uncomfortable.

"I love you." He said as if confessing a crime. She smiled and leaned down to kiss him.  
>"You know I love you to, right?" She said searching his eyes.<p>

"I do now." He admitted. A smile warming his face. Making him look so much more handsome.

He had never told a woman he loved her. It was not just words to him. But Ariadne was once again, different. She kissed him then. Not as his lover, not a kiss of lust, but as a couple who had nothing but time to spend together.


	18. Chapter 18

Reunion and Re-Union

"_When I'm with you. The only place I want to be is closer." _

_Unknown_

~ "I think we found him." Arthur said from his work station.

"Yuseff? How?" Ariadne asked walking over to him.

"He responded to a want ad I posted a while back. Seeking a Chemist." Arthur explained.

"Can we be sure this our man?" The Forger asked looking over the Point Man's shoulder.

"No." Arthur replied coldly.

"We still have to try." Cobb added from across the room. He had just turned his cell phone off. He had been trying all night to reach Saito and Yori. No one at the house was picking up.

~ The Market was a mess of colors and strange languages and faces. Yuseff blended in seamlessly. His natural manners and appearance gave him a certain camouflage in almost every city he had hid out in. The money form the Fischer job was almost gone. Running from Cobol was getting expensive. The crowded market would protect him if this meeting went bad. He could vanish in them with ease.

"Hello, old man." Came a familiar voice. Yuseff turned around to see Eames.

The Chemist turned away from the Forger only to encounter the Point Man and Architect coming from the other end of the street.

"Yuseff, it's alright. We've been looking for you." The Extractor said.

"I've been on the run for three months!" Yuseff cried from the safety of the Teams home. "This is all your fault Cobb! You should have told me about your being wanted by Cobol!"

"This has nothing to do with Cobb being wanted." Arthur said steadily. "Cobol is after their own extraction team."

"I thought we broke up there little Team." Yuseff said hotly. Cobb sighed heavily. The Extractor filled the Chemist in on Sybil, the Australian Team, and the recent attack on them.

~ Night came across the city. Ariadne was in her tiny bedroom, She was wrapping up her art work, packing her clothes. Cobb had announced after Yuseff had had a chance to calm down that they would be going back to Japan. He had confided in the Team he could not reach Yori or Saito. A soft knock came at her door. She knew without even opening it who it would be.

The Point Man stood at her door making sure the hallway was empty. It was a horrible game the two had to play. Like a couple of guilty, horny teenagers. Afraid of getting caught.

The Architect opened her door and smiled at her lover. Arthur quickly walked into his Lady's room and closed the door behind him.

"Cobb says we leave at first light." He told her. Ariadne nodded.

"I can't believe how much stuff I've got to pack." She sighed clearing out a nearby drawer. "I came here with only two bags." She added. She neatly arranged her art supplies in her carry all. Arthur nodded. He looked at her worn leather bag. A gentleman's carry all, old fashioned.

"I think I need to get you a new travel bag." He said running his hands over it.

"Don't you dare." She said sharply. Arthur looked up at her.

She shrugged.

"It was my Grandfather's. One of the few things I got out of my old place." Arthur nodded. "It reminds me of him." She admitted.

"All this...that has happened to you... it's because of us." He admitted finally.

"I knew what I was getting into." She said.

"No, you didn't." Arthur said sadly "Cobb and I never told you about Cobol. We didn't prepare you." He said. She looked at him then. His face looked so much younger. Nothing at all like the confident man she loved.

"We can't change anything. I wouldn't want to." She admitted. She went to him then and kissed him on the cheek. He nodded.

"Are you looking forward to going back to Japan?" he asked finally. She sighed.

"In a way." She told him. Stopping her packing and sitting on her bed. He took her leather bag off the bed and sat down next to her. "I just feel like there is more we could be doing."

"Cobb is worried about his kids." Arthur said softly brushing back her hair, kissing her neck.

"I know. I am to." The Architect said responding to the Point Man's touch. "Saito and Yori are not the kind of people who just don't pick up."

"No... their not." Arthur mumbled under her neck. Ariadne's breathing became more rapid as his mouth and hot breath explored her.

"Arthur," She gasped. "Did you lock the door?" Not wanting to leave his Lady's side but not wanting to be rudely interrupted, Arthur abandoned her and locked her door. Putting a shabby chic chair under the knob for good measure. His Lady quickly started to disrobe herself as he returned to her side and began his assault on her lips, neck and body.

"We have to be quiet." He breathed into her ear.

His hot breath making her nearly collapse into him.

"No screaming like last time." He warned.

"That was your fault." She said huskily as the Point Man's hands deftly shed her of clothes. The cool air on her skin, his breath on her. Then his skin on her. Warm and strong.

She failed miserably to fend off his advances. All rational thought was gone as she allowed him to take her. His hands moved over intimate areas of her body and skillfully brought her to climax.

His lips was over hers to try and keep her from screaming in pleasure. The only noise she could make was soft gasping as she tried to keep her mind together. Her only clear thought being '_try_ to be quiet'.


	19. Chapter 19

Falling

_"A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love." _

_Stendhal_

Ariadne was in heaven. This was the first time since they left Japan that they had been together in the waking world. It was risky. Cobb and Eames were downstairs. The house was not exactly built to muffle sounds.

She bit her lip hard as Arthur planted soft wet kisses on her breasts. Suckling them. His heavy hands moving over her naked body. His skin felt delicious and forbidden on hers. The contact of the cool air on her hot flesh. The fact her body was revealed to him. He could see all her most intimate areas.

She tried to keep her breathing stable. Tried to suppress a little gasps of pleasure that wanted to escape.

"Shh." He told her kissing her lips. His own naked skin on hers. Melding with her. His skin was warm and electric as it touched hers. The sin of covering themselves with clothing was behind them now as his body laid over hers.

She became lost under his steady kissing. The Point Man strategic in distracting her. Making her body bend to him. Her sex becoming excited and damp. A reward for all his work.

Like an animal she moved her hips upward. Her wet desire wanting his intrusion. Awaiting it impatiently. She could feel his hardness. Just out of her reach. He was always ready. From the moment their coupling would start, he was ridged and wanting. She never had to work to bring him to attention.

He was whispering he loved her as she could feel the tip of his head move into her folds. His hands smoothing her out, guiding himself in. She was breathing hard as she adjusted herself beneath him. The feel of his hot shaft was so different in the waking world. So much better. His warmth was like completion. His body temperature a surprise to her.

He fell back on her again as he forced the rest of himself in. She let out a steady breath as she accepted all of him. She had to force herself to relax her inner walls so she could enjoy him. Her body was so small and his girth was frightening at first.

Arthur was gentle. Ever mindful of her petite frame. He didn't thrust himself in wildly. Only rode her softly at fist. Paying attention to her face and body language. Careful of how he should proceed. He held her hips upward as he ground into her body. Making her want to squeal in satisfaction. Her delicate sex bud swollen and abused by his hands and body. Causing her to moan and gasp involuntarily.

She looked beautiful beneath him. Her big eyes, wide and frightened. Looking up at him with a curious power. A lust that was brewing deeply behind the doe like brown.

He slid in and out easily from her soaking wet chamber. The contact of the cool air on his shaft as he pulled out was exciting. She looked at him imploringly as he felt his completion was near.

They had not used protection. The moment had happened too fast.  
>"Arthur." She pleaded simply.<p>

That was all it took for him. He would satisfy himself and her. Consequences be damned.

Recklessly, he plunged himself back into her hot mass of wetness. His blood alive in his veins. Racing, pumping.

With groans and restrained screams she came for him in a shutter of bucking hips and clawing on his back. He released himself deep inside her. Unafraid of where such actions might lead.

"I love you." He panted softly in her ear as she kept her arms and legs wrapped around him.

"I love you to." She whispered back. Her face was sweaty and lovely. Her cheeks pink from the work they had endured.


	20. Chapter 20

Running

"_If I'm free, it's because I'm always running."_

_Jimi Hendrix _

**Tokyo**

~ It was early evening when Cobol's men came for them. Saito and Yori were still at work. A nanny had been employed to mind the Children and Sybil.

When the men broke in and struck the poor woman down, Sybil had been just about to come downstairs. It felt like she was in a dream as she saw shadows and heard voices. The Children were upstairs. Unaware that anything was wrong.

Quietly, wasting no time, she grabbed her totem and slipped on some shoes. As the habit of the Team, bags were packed for a quick get away. Sybil took a quick look at the dull Ganesha before entering James and Phillipa's room very quietly.

"Guys!" She hissed. "We have to play the game." The pair looked back at the Teenage Girl. This was a game Sybil had played with them before. Ever the pessimist and always planning for the worst. Her "game" had taught them how to sneak around the house making no noise. An escape plan that would not scare them.

The men were upstairs now as Sybil and the Children took the back stairs to the garage. They were silent and expeditious in their escape. Phillipa was clutching the leather bound books Ariadne had sent.

The men made loud noises looking for them. Sybil could hear them on the back stairs now as she shepherded the two youngsters into one of the cars. Saito's Lexus. She grimaced at what Saito would say at her driving his weekend car. But the keys were on the peg bored and this was the only way out.

"Can you _drive,_ Sybil?" Phillipa asked as the Teenage Girl started the Engine and opened the garage door. The Men opened the side door to the garage and attacked the car. Sybil locked the doors sharply and haphazardly put the Lexus in reverse.

The luxury car rolled heavily out of the garage and sped in reverse 100 yards through the sleepy suburb before Sybil managed to put it in drive. The Men gave a futile chase before they turned around.

Sybil knew they would be in hot pursuit in there own cars. She had to get to the airport. Their passports were already in their bags and Saito had formed a plan for just this kind of emergency.

~ At the airport, she parked the car recklessly and ran with the Children inside. It was crowded and Sybil was right in assuming that Cobol's men had followed her.

She and the kids had just made it past security when she saw them. Looking bulky and stupid, they had not seen her. She never thought to tell security that she was running from men chasing her. She knew Cobol could forge documents. Police badges and the like. Indeed as she watched in growing horror, one of the thugs pulled out ID that had them waved past security.

Sybil collected herself and found the airlines she was looking for. Saito's privet airline. He had given her a card for just such an emergency. With the kids in tow she cut ahead of the other patrons and spoke in perfect Japanese.  
>"We have to go to America, <em>now<em>." She presented the card Saito gave her to the surprised attendant. They looked it over and told her the next flight would leave in 30 minutes.  
>"30 minutes?" She cried. How could she keep Cobol's men away for that long? An idea came to her. A memory.<p>

_The mother would divert a predator away form her helpless babies by pretending she was injured and couldn't fly. _

Sybil took their passports out of their bags and handed them to the attendant.

"Guys, I'll be back." She told the Children "This lady is going to take you on the plane and the plane will take you to your Grandfather's. He will meet you there."

The two children nodded at her. They were scared but did not question.  
>"If I don't come back I will meet you there as soon as I can. OK?" She said. They nodded again and Sybil told the attendant to put them on the plane in First Class. The attendant promised and Sybil vanished in the crowd.<p>

The Teenage Girl quickly spotted Cobol's men. They were stupidly stopping from airline to airline searching for them. It was an ineffective way to find anything. Yet they would soon reach the airline where she and the children were. She looked around her and saw plenty of running room.

"Hey!" She called and Cobol's men looked up, recognized her, and gave chase.

The airport was a wash of tourists. Color and lights permeated every corner. It was easy for Sybil to lose her pursuers. So easy in fact that she had to expose herself again to steer them clear of the Children. Her general appearance (like Yuseff) gave her easy cover in the crowds of dark hairs and forgettable faces.

By the time she returned to Saito's airline hanger the Children were gone. A large plane was taxing out on the runway.

"Is that the plane?" She asked the attendant, breathing hard. A painful stitch in her side. The woman nodded.

"I put the boy and girl on myself. Non stop to Los Angeles." she said. Sybil nodded.

"That blows." She breathed clutching her side. "That _blows_."

**Morocco**

~ Ariadne spotted Cobol's men before before they saw her. Arthur was down the street getting a cab. Cobb, Yuseff and Eames were meeting them at the airport.

The Extractor had received a call from Saito early that morning. The news was not good. Saito's home had been broken into. The nanny killed. Sybil and the Children where gone. The Team stepped up their plans to leave Morocco.

She had just finished locking the house up and was waiting for Arthur when she saw them. Worse then tourists. They wore ill fitting cheap suits in a place and climate where even the rich and powerful dressed casual. They gave themselves away by looking at the faces of people not the general atmosphere. There manners were boorish and self important. Making the locals look at them.

Ariadne looked in vain for Arthur. Had they gotten to him? She knew they had seen her. Their expressions had turned from frustration to furry as they picked up their pace. Ariadne had no choice but to leave and do so quickly.

Outside the Teams fine home, was a cacophony of markets. Sellers hollering and bargaining. The Architect looked distinct in the crowds of dark skin and bright colorful clothing. She didn't have Sybil's or Yuseff's ability to be just another face in a strange country.

She didn't run, running would call attention, but she knew they were close. She didn't look back as she tried to weave in impossible path in the crowded market. She clutched her grandfather's bag close to her and tried to look for an escape route.

The sounds of the Market were so loud she didn't hear them until they grabbed her. She fought back, screaming for help in English, French, Japanese and Spanish.

Some of the vendors stopped what they were doing and tried to come to her aide but the hulking forms of Cobol's two men, as well as there exposed weapons, kept them at bay. She heard the vendors shouting at Cobol's men in sharp angry tongues. They formed a tight circle not letting the men leave. The local women were shouting at the interlopers now, throwing things at them. One of the men brandished a knife.

Then, Arthur was there. The Point Man roughly pushed Cobol's man down to the delight of the waiting mob. The locals turned on thug thug with clubs and rocks. Ariadne felt a sharp pain on her arm and knew she was hurt. Arthur wrapped his arms around the neck of the last thug throwing him off her. The Point Man quickly disarmed the man and after a brief fight, left him to the fate of the angry market goers.

Ariadne managed to sit up. Attention taken away from her and focused on her attackers. Adrenaline was pumping in her body as Arthur helped her to her feet.

"You alright?" He asked gruffly.

A wave of relief came over her to see him. To feel his capable hands on her.

She almost nodded when a bright patch of blood started blooming from her arm. It caused her to gasp. The Point Man took out a cloth handkerchief from his pocket and held it tightly over her arm.

"Keep pressure on it." He said and steadily walked them both out of the market, and to a waiting cab.

~ On a small privet plane, Eames held ice over Ariadne's wound. She didn't want to go to the hospital, she wanted out of the country and back in Japan.

"Cobol's men." Arthur had explained to Cobb when the shocked Extractor asked what happened. Ariadne looked out the window when a sudden wave of emotion broke her.

She couldn't help but start to cry. The shock and fear of the chase, her injury, the worry over James, Phillipa and Sybil. It had taken a long time for her brain to process but now, she couldn't control the tears.

"I'm so sorry." She said awkwardly trying to brush her tears away with her uninjured left hand.

"Not to worry, Darling." Eames said with a soft smile moving the ice pack.

She hated moments like these when she was acting like some silly girl. She hated the weakness the attack made her feel.

"She needs stitches." The Point Man said arriving to take the Forger's seat across from the Architect.

Eames nodded and vacated. Arthur sat down with the plane's first aide kit and looked at the deep wound. The Architect laid her arm out trustingly on the little table between them. Gently and skillfully, he cleaned it, and with quick tight stitches, he closed the wound.

His hands were smooth and calming. Warm and gentle. She watched them make the graceful stitching. The Point Man's brow a scowl as he concentrated on her wound.

"I cant promise this wont leave a scar." He admitted to her.

She nodded still trying not to cry and failing.

"I'll get you something for pain." He said softly.

"No." She said. Her voice sounded scared and small. "I don't want to be drugged."

Arthur shook his head.

"You need something for the pain." He told her gently. She shook her head, and Arthur relented. The adrenaline leaving her body was causing her to feel _very_ tired. Like a caffeine crash.

On the long flight back to Japan, the Architect fell asleep. She fell asleep with the comfort that her friends were near her, that she was safe. If only for now.


	21. Chapter 21

Regression

"_Accept loss forever"_

_Jack Kerouac_

~ As soon as the Team landed in Tokyo, Saito was there to meet them. He looked somewhat disheveled and worried.

"Anything?" The Extractor asked.

"Mr. Cobb..." Saito started but could not finished. Their could be no happy news. Not when words failed an infallible man like Saito.

~ Inside the airport security, Cobb watched a black and white video of Sybil putting James and Phillipa on a plane. The Teenage Girl had run off then, appearing on a series of other cameras.

"We believe that she was diverting the assailants away from the Children. She missed the flight they were on. She boarded another flight to Los Angeles an hour later." Saito explained.

"How did they get to the airport?" Arthur asked.

"She drove them." Saito said in an irritated tone. "In_ my_ Lexus."

Cobb heard none of this as he stood with his cell phone to one ear.  
>"Miles isn't picking up." The Extractor said worriedly.<p>

"Maybe Mal's parents?" Arthur offered. Cobb nodded and left the room to talk to his former in-laws.

"Where's Yori?" Ariadne asked. Saito sighed.

"Cobol's extraction Team, the ones who assaulted us on the plane, are showing marked improvements with an experimental drug Yori has developed. She has gone to Australia to offer help to Mr. Braker and his Team." The Businessman said.

"Really?" Ariadne sounded hopeful.

"It is far to soon to tell anything." Saito reminded her.

"Braker and his people are trained for this kind of thing, Darling." Eames assured her. "If anyone can fight their way out the daze, they can."

"I wouldn't bet on it." Yuseff said sadly. "Trained or no, the Australian team will never be sure what is real or not. I've seen it far to many times."

"Oh! Thank you Yuseff, the life of the party." Eames said in a catty voice usually reserved for the Point Man.

"Mal's parents haven't heard anything." Cobb said coming back into the room.

He looked tired and anxious. Like the days when Mal's projection was haunting him.

"I am attempting to get the security camera's for LAX." Saito offered. "At least we can know they landed safely."

"I'm sure Miles took them somewhere. He is probably in the air right now waiting till it's okay to call." Arthur volunteered. Unusually optimistic.

Cobb nodded.

"Cobb," Saito approached the Extractor. "I am sorry. I have failed you."

"No." Cobb said shortly. "This is on Cobol. They know were onto them."

"We have no reason to think Cobol has Sybil and the kids. She's a smart girl. She eluded them before. We have to continue with our plans assuming their safe. Nothing will get done otherwise." Arthur said.

"So there is a plan?" Saito asked, intrigued.

~ In a warehouse. Far away from the noise of the city, the Team was gathered.

The nostalgia of the old days was not lost on any of them.

"You recall our old friend Peter Browning right?" Eames said passing around files from the Fischer job. "Since Robert Fischer is now dismantling his Father's company, Browning has been buying shares in all sorts of energy commerce. Oil, coal, even green energy."

"Yes," Saito said scathingly. "He is attempting to take over as a leader in energy left by Maurice Fischer."

Eames nodded.

"He is succeeding, Mr. Saito." The Forger admitted politely.

"Now if I were Cobol, Browning would be an perfect target. Always assuming Sybil is right, and we have no reason not to believe that she is wrong, Cobol is looking for powerful people to perform dream manipulation on."  
>"He who controls the energy controls the world." Arthur finished.<p>

"Exactly." Eames said.

"Cobol's inceptions are sloppy." Ariadne said to the group. "Surely they won't take."

"Your forgetting the drugs." Yuseff added. "The same type of mixture that made you think Cobb was trying to kill you, can make Browning into Cobol's puppet."

"So what do we do?" Saito asked.

"We go in." Cobb answered. "Take Browning into a dream. Perform inception, to make him distrust Cobol."

"Get him before Cobol dose." Eames added.

"Fisher's subconscious was militarized." Arthur said "We have to assume Browning's will be to."

"It took _weeks_ to do Fisher's Inception." Ariadne said. "We don't have that kind of time."  
>"We know what were doing now." Cobb assured her.<p>

"We just need to get to the simplest version of the idea." Eames said.

"So what if we perform inception on Browning, what about Presidents and Prime Minsters?" Ariadne asked.

"We can't just brainwash every world leader." Arthur agreed.

"No of course not." Eames agreed "But it's not the leaders of the world who _lead_ the world is it?"

"It's big business." Cobb agreed. "With Browning's holdings, as well as Saito's, we can shut down Cobol for good."

~ In a nice hotel that was acting as a safe house, Ariadne was sketching in her room. Like the Fisher Inception, Cobb wanted 3 dream levels. The depth of the plant was necessary for maximum effect. She was working on mazes. She could utilize a great deal form the Fisher Job but she had to create a few differences.

She was expecting him. She was not surprised when she heard a soft knock. Arthur was standing at her door.

"May I come in?" He asked. The Architect smiled and stood aside allowing him entrance.

"I know why your here." She told him. Shutting and locking the door behind him.

"Do you?" He asked with a mischievous smile.

She shook her head. She would not allow him to divert her.

"You don't want me to go into the dream with the rest of you." She told him clearing her bed of her drawings. He sighed.

"No, I don't. It was too dangerous the first time. This time we know what were getting into."

"I have to." She told him.

"No, you don't." He said sharply.

Ariadne looked up at him.

They both felt an argument approaching. Arthur looked frustrated.

"You were not supposed to go with us on the Fischer Inception. Miles told Cobb not to bring you in. _I_ told Cobb not to bring you in. When we found out how dangerous it was..." Arthur couldn't finish.

It was almost a year ago now, but the memory of gun fire, the projections, the fear of not waking up. These were things still fresh in all there minds.

"Like you said, we know what were getting into." Ariadne said defensively. "We know the risks and we will be more careful."

"No. _We _will be more careful, _you_ will stay outside as our control." Arthur said.

"_No_. I wont." The Architect said turning her back to the Point Man.

She was not expecting him to grab her and turn her around to face him. She was not afraid exactly. No more afraid of Cobb when he grabbed her in the early days of dreams.

"I _said_ your staying out." Arthur said in his low authoritative voice. "If I have to drug you and lock you in your room, I will."

Her voice was cold.

Her voice was exacting.

She looked her lover in the eye and said:

"This effects me more then anyone else. It was _me_ that Cobol abducted, remember? This is my life to. If you try to keep me out of the fight and tending the home fires... it's over." He knew exactly what she meant by _over_.

"Ari..." He tried to say her name. His voice became lost. He wanted to kiss her. Hold her. Reason with her. The look in her eyes told him she would have none of this.

"We... uh... that last night in Morocco." He breathed. We didn't... you might be..." He said with difficulty. She rolled her eyes.  
>"I'm not pregnant, Arthur." She told him harshly.<p>

"How do you know?" He asked. She sighed a frustrated sigh and looked at him.  
>"When we landed in Japan, I went to a doctor friend of Yori's. She gave me an emergency contraceptive pill." The Architect said. Feeling like it's wasn't the Point Man's business.<p>

"Morning after pill?" He asked. Looking hurt.  
>"No. It just prevents pregnancy. It's not an abortion pill." She asked giving him an outraged look.<p>

"You and I should have talked about that... before you went... and did..." He said feeling his face flush hot.

"I didn't do anything wrong." She told him. "We were a little over zealous in Morocco and didn't take the right precautions."

"Ariadne." He said his tone pleading. His stomach in knots at the idea.

"Did you _want_ to get me pregnant?" She asked. Her eyes wide. Her breathing speeding up.

He said nothing. Only looked down at his shoes.

With nothing more to plead, bargain, threaten or hold to her with, Arthur took one last look at his Lady and left.


	22. Chapter 22

A simple little idea...

_Courage is the resistance of fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear."_

_Mark Twain_

~ Saito received word from his airline that the Children and Sybil arrived safely at LAX, but all three vanished in the crowds. Feeling responsible for there disappearance, he had left for L.A. That morning.

~ After days of planning. Eames and Saito hammered out the simplest version of the idea. _Fear_ of Cobol.

It was not far fetched. The Team themselves had been in fear of Cobol for almost a year.

Eames felt that they could manipulate Browning's projections, as well as there own, to be Cobol's men. Making the mark believe that any business dealings with the engineering giant would be wrong.

Arthur did intensive research, alongside Eames, of Browning. He only spoke to the Architect when she needed to explain his dream level.

The Point Man had kept his distance from her the past few days. She had seemed so focused. As though she put all the trauma and hurt caused by Cobol into her work.

Cobb was impressed.

Arthur was worried.

She was _too_ driven, like Cobb had been when he took them into the Fischer Inception. The Point Man had tried to talk the Extractor out of letting Ariadne come into the dream. But Cobb would have none of it.

"Yuseff is making a mixture for us to go under. He refuses to go in. Yuseff will be our Control. I need you and Eames on point. She takes the first level." Was the Extractor's reply.

"No." Arthur said. "We can't let her do this again."

"This is her choice, Arthur." Cobb told his Point Man. "She's proven to me and you that she is capable of doing this job. She held her own beautifully on the Fischer job."

"No." Arthur said. "We can do this job without bringing her in." Cobb shook his head.

"Everyone who goes into the dream has a job. We all know our jobs." He said

"Cobb..." Arthur sighed. The moment had come. "Ariadne and I..." He couldn't finish. The Extractor looked up at the Point Man. He sensed what Arthur was going to say.

"How long?" Cobb asked. His face a deep scowl.

"Since right before we left Japan, almost four months now."

Cobb sighed.

"We've worked missions together during that time. Both of you should have said something." The Extractor said. Agitated.

"It wasn't anyone business but our own." Arthur countered.

"You didn't say anything because you know how I would feel about it." Cobb retorted. "If the two of you had a spat we would lose a great Architect. It was irresponsible. Not like you at all."

"Exactly, Cobb." Arthur told his friend. "When has this ever happened before? When have I_ ever_ talked to you about a woman like this before?"

"Never." Cobb admitted slowly. "But the only other member of the Team who was of the fairer sex was Mal. We have all been living close together, Ariadne is... impressive. You just haven't had that many options over the past few months." Cobb shrugged. "Just tell me the two of you haven't had a fight."

"Only about her going in." Arthur admitted. "And as for my lack of options... you know better." Arthur said coldly before walking away.

**Amsterdam**

~ Sybil stood at the windows looking down at the small boats passing in the canal. Cobb's father, Miles, had not picked up his phone and she knew no where else to run to. She had lived in Amsterdam for years with her mother and had knowledge of the city.

Saito had been generous with her daily allowance. As business man, he felt her daily expenses were equal to his own.

As a result, the Girl had thousands saved up. More then enough to run on. She and the Children were hiding out in a Youth Hostel. The keeper there, indifferent to the fact that they were all too young to be in this place alone.

They were in a less touristy part of the city and it was off season. Sybil was lucky to get a room with two bunk beds. Easily accommodating herself and the Children.

James and Phillipa were sleeping soundly. As the Girl worried over what she should do.

Call Cobb?

Let him know where they were?

What if Cobol had him and the call led them strait here?

What if they forced the Extractor or any member of the Team to lead them into a trap?

Call Saito?

Surely the business man would be untouchable. Cobol could not get to him. Yet Cobol did get to them. Why they had to flee Japan in the first place.

Sybil yawned. Climbed into her bed next to Phillipa's warm little body. She easily went to sleep. No decision made.

**La Rochelle, France**

~ Eames found Browning vacationing in France a few days later. The American business man had finally taken time away from his work and left the country. If the Team was going to perform Inception, the time had come.

"Kidnapping?" Ariadne asked as the Team sat at an outdoor cafe. They were very near the beach and could see Browning walking along the shoreline.

"Only way." Eames told her.

The Team, Cobb, Arthur, Ariadne, Eames and Yuseff look for all the world like general well traveled tourists.

Their travels had earned their wardrobes a stylish mixture of global influence. They looked neither European nor American. They blended in.

"Browning will go back to his hotel room." Arthur said not looking at Ariadne. "We can get him then. Perform the inception in his hotel room."

"Ariadne," Cobb said. "Get ready."

The Extractor handed the Architect two drinks the waiter had just brought them along with a small vial.

"Not really good at this, Cobb." The Architect told him. She stood up taking the drinks and walking to the beach.

Arthur watched her walk away. With her back to him, he was free to observe her.

For the mission, she had taken special care with her looks. Before, her looks were natural. Beautiful and carefree. Today she was wearing more make-up and a skimpy sundress in a nude color that blended in _too_ well with her fair skin. She trotted down the beach to meet Browning.

Arthur was annoyed to see her dressed and made up like this. Not just because she had to flirt with Browning and drug him, but because she was looking suddenly far too sexy, and he could do nothing about it. They still had not spoken much beyond the mission's needs. Both still mad at the other.

"What if she can't get Browning to take the bait?" Arthur asked not letting his Lady out of his sight.

"He'll take the bait." Eames said carelessly drinking the rest of his imported beer. "If your and older gentleman, and a pretty girl on a hot day offers you a drink... you take it."

The Point Man didn't like the Forger's logic but couldn't dispute it.

Arthur watched as Ariadne talked to Browning. Smiled at him. Eventually sitting down next to him on the beach. He cringed when the old man put his hand on her shoulder as she laughed. Soon enough, she was waving at the Team.

Arthur and Eames cut across the beach to see Browning was awake but feeling disoriented. The Older Man gladly accepted help back to his room from his _new friends_ before passing out.

"In and out in less then ten hours, Ladies." Eames said as Yuseff set up the PASIV. In the hotel room.

Arthur took off his cream colored summer blazer and placed it around Ariadne's shoulders.

The Architect looked at him surprise as he took a line from the device. She knew he didn't like the dress. It was far too revealing for both their tastes and he didn't like the fact other men would see her so scantily clad. The color, the fact that at first glance she looked almost naked in it, didn't help either.

She shrugged on the light weight coat that was far too big for her and took the device line he offered. Their eyes meeting briefly at the contact of his hands on hers.

The Team had left Browning on the bed and the four of them going in (Cobb, Eames, Ariadne and Arthur) laid themselves on the floor.  
>"Ready?" Yuseff asked.<br>"Ready." Cobb told him.

With a push of a button, the team fell down the rabbit hole.


	23. Chapter 23

Under Land

_Your worst enemy, he reflected, was your nervous system. _

_At any moment the tension inside you was liable to translate itself into some visible symptom."_  
><em>George Orwell, 1984<em>

~ The Team "awoke" to the nightmare Ariadne dreamed. The top layer was designed to be a dystopia of the future. The buildings, sky, ground and people were ashen gray. Broken and sickly. Ariadne felt Arthur's hand enclose around her own. She looked up at him. All of them were together. Dressed in ragged layers, muted in colors.  
>"Peter?" Eames asked Browning. "There coming for us."<p>

"Who?" Browning asked looking around the dilapidated rooms.

"Cobol's men." Eames answered. "We have to get away."

As if on cue, gun fire and shells could be heard in the distance. Browning looked frighted as Cobb looked out the broken windows. Since this was her dream, only Ariadne knew the paradoxes and mazes that ran through this crumbling city. Theses paradoxes would protect them from the projections of Browning's subconscious.

"We have to go." She told the men. Opening a door that lead down an eerie well of stairs.

As the Team walked carefully and quietly, Browning asked questions. What was happening? Where were they? It was Eames who did most of the talking. Telling Browning the simple history of Cobol engineering taking over. Making America an impoverished third world country. The Team arrived on street level to see, angry looking projections rioting and looting.

"It's alright." Arthur whispered to Ariadne. "Those are Browning's projections of his own fear of this world." Never the less, the Point Man held tight to the automatic rifle in his hands. He guarded the Team as they maneuvered around the city.

"We have to get out of here!" Browning cried. The older man looking to his younger companions for help.

"We will, Peter." Eames assured him.

~ Ten hours of dream time, they had to spend a week at this level. The Team hid out in old buildings. Gun fire and exchanges illuminated the night sky. In a dream, there was no need to sleep. Something Browning didn't know. The Team stayed awake, keeping watch. When Browning woke, they feed him stories of Cobol's take over and nothing else.

With no need to eat in a dream, Browning's mind believed he was starving. When Browning 'slept' Arthur sat next to his Lady in a corner of a sad, gray little room.

"Very good maze." he admitted. She had to smile and leaned against him for warmth.

"There's an army outside the paradoxes. They _will_ find a way in, eventually." She admitted.

Arthur nodded. Cobb and Eames sat in another room. The furniture around them was old, broken and faded.

"You watched 1984 while designing this?" Arthur asked trying to be funny. She laughed lightly.  
>"You caught me." She said. She felt him take her hands in his, fingers twine in hers. A small gesture, unseen by their comrades.<p>

"That dress your were wearing." He said softly.

Looking over at Cobb and Eames. Making sure they went unnoticed.

"It was... interesting." He admitted. Feeling a heat rush to his face at the memory.

She kept her gaze ahead. Not trusting herself to look at him.

"I know, I got it a few days ago when we landed in Paris." She said. "I wanted to piss you off."

He laughed then.

"It worked." He admitted with a boyish smile. "It worked very well." Arthur sighed. The memory of that dress on her. "_To_ well." He added.

Ariadne shifted from her spot on the floor. A hard blush betraying her. She turned her head, not wanting Arthur to see.

~ When the time came to go deeper in the dream the Team had moved to a bunker at the center of the city's maze. The Team could feel the projections closing in around them. There was a certain trapped feeling.

"I hope you have another way out." Cobb said to Ariadne as they were filling a large tank with water.

"I do." She nodded.

Browning had been drugged again. His sleeping body sat slumped heavily in a chair over the tank. This was and "old-trick-kick" as Cobb had explained it. A fast and easy way to bring them out of the second dream. It was one he always used. Cobb had explained sometimes the fall was not enough to bring you out, but the fall into _water_ was enough to bring you out and back into focus. A plank holding the 4 chairs stood over the water tank as Cobb and Eames took there seat next to Browning.

"Here." Arthur said putting the safety on his rifle.

The Point Man handed her the weapon. Wrapping his arms around her from behind, he made her arms and body conform to correctly hold the firearm.

"It's an automatic, fully loaded. Just point and fire. If the projections brake through that door... dunk us, don't worry about the inception. Just dunk us and bring us out."

He seemed to be wanting to say more, and Ariadne was listening. So were Eames and Cobb.

Arthur nodded and took the last seat next to the Forger.

"Be safe." He said finally hooking himself up to the PASIV.

She nodded. Gun fire was closer now as she engaged the device, and the men fell in a level deeper.


	24. Chapter 24

Down They Fell

"_It is my no means an irrational fancy that, _

_in a future existence, _

_we shell look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream."_

_Edgar Allan Poe_

~It was Arthur's dream they fell into on the second level. It looked like a modern board room. Eames had forged himself as an executive.

"Mr. Browning," Eames said in his tacky ill fitting suit. "We at Cobol can make you a very rich man if you would only sell us your power plants."

Eames had the general look of a man not to be trusted.

"Cobol?" Browning mutter. His brain was racing. Cobb had pulled Browning aside. Telling him about Cobol.

_ The simple idea. _

Arthur looked out the window. Ariadne had created an office building for him filled with elevators and stairs that went nowhere. He knew the projections would come, but her fine work gave them more time. The meeting progressed. Browning became more agitated as Eames offered him money and power. The foundations of the inception was taking hold.

~ On the Top Layer Ariadne could hear the gun fire coming closer. She almost didn't hear the slow drawl of the horns. The French woman singing. Arthur's music. It was almost time.

~ Hours had ticked by and the projections were closer to the Team. Arthur fought them off as Cobb and Eames drugged Browning again and took him into the Last Layer.

Cobb's dream would be simple. A world where Cobol was broken apart and Browning was a very successful man. Arthur applied C4 to the rooms where they were hooked up and tried to keep projections at bay.

~ Ariadne put the headphones over Arthur's ears as she heard the projections brake into the building. There were still paradoxes in place that would protect her, but she wanted the Point Man out soon.

~ Arthur barely heard the music as he fired at a wash of angry projections. He locked the doors behind him as the music stretched itself out to form an eerie and entirely different melody.

Almost time.

~ "Best not to tell Ariadne about this." Cobb said smoothing back his hair.

In the third level, Browning was younger, richer, thinner and with a beautiful girl in a nude colored sun dress was at his side. Ariadne was nothing more then a projection of Browning's subconscious at this level. The business man looked happy as a woman singing in French made Cobb and Eames stop.  
>"Time to go." Eames said, a feeling of falling came over the men.<p>

They opened there eyes to the conference room, the floor collapsing around them from the C4 explosion.

They opened there eyes to the shock of the water as Ariadne dunked them into the tank.

~ It happened so fast. Arthur was out of the water first as the sound of gun shots were dangerously close. Projections had finally broken in. Ariadne had shot two of them and the rest were pouring inside.

The Point Man grabbed the rifle from her and pushed her behind him. It was a riot of gun fire as they went down. Eames climbed out of the tank, helping Browning out.  
>"Which way?" Cobb shouted.<p>

"Here!" She shouted as Arthur continued shooting. She opened a trap door in the floor. The Team quickly descended through the little door and closed it behind them. When the projections pried open the door, there was only floor where an escape well had been.

Paradox.

~ A short while later, the team felt the PASIV time out. First Cobb vanished, then Arthur, Browning, and finally Eames. Ariadne was alone in her sad, little dream as she slowly saw white. She opened her eyes to see the ceiling of the hotel room in La Rochelle, France.


	25. Chapter 25

Waking

_"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination."_

_John Lennon_

~Ariadne sat up and fumbled for her totem she had tucked into her dress. The same weight, colors and shine of the rock was still there. The memory of a perfect day with Arthur was there. The day when she had been photographing temples and this shinny glass like rock caught her eye. It was unique and strange. A perfect totem.

The real world.

She felt a hand on her back and saw the Point Man looking at her. She nodded.

"Everyone alright?" Yuseff asked. "How did it go?"

"I think it worked." Eames said sitting up.

Cobb looked over at Browning who was still sleeping off the drugs they gave him on the beach. His loud snoring was distracting. The Team unhooked themselves and Browning from the device and quickly took their leave.

"Cobb," Yuseff said as they made there way down to the lobby. "You cell phone went off while you were under. Saito found your family and the Girl, Sybil. He is bringing them to us right now."

Cobb and the others gave a sigh of relief.

"Are they alright?" Ariadne asked. Pulling Arthur's jacket around her body. Her hands lost in the length of the sleeves.

Yuseff nodded.

"Is my father with them?" Cobb asked. The Extractor was angry at him for not calling him or answering the phone.

"Cobb," Yuseff started and stopped. He wasn't the person to say this. "Saito said the Miles had a stroke in his home a few days ago. He's at a hospital in L.A. I don't know anything else."

~ The Team was quiet as they rode the elevator down to the lobby. Ariadne took her lover's hand. All thoughts of their fight were forgotten. She felt him give her hand a reassuring squeeze.

For Cobb, the need to see his Children safely returned to him outweighed the need to tend to his Father. Cobb and the Team waited patently in Paris for Saito to arrive. They lodged at the same local inn Arthur ran to after he found his Lady had been taken. As night crept across the French country side Ariadne changed into her regular clothes.

"Sorry to see that hot number go, Darling." Eames joked as she came came downstairs looking her normal self again.

"I'm sure you are." She said mockingly.

Once they were alone, Arthur grinned at her.  
>"You did really well down there." He said.<br>"_We_ did really well." She corrected.

~ It was with an eagerness the Team watched the driveway. Almost like kids on Christmas Eve. As headlights broke open the night they all stood. In a Luxury car Saito got out along with a blond Sybil and Jams and Phillipa. The two youngsters screamed in delight at seeing their Father. The reunion was wonderful to be apart of, if only as a witness.

"Bloody hell!" Eames exclaimed giving Sybil a hug. He smoothed out her light colored hair and laughed.  
>"Don't listen to him!" Ariadne said with a smile. "You look wonderful." She gave the Girl a warm hug.<p>

"Thank you Saito," Cobb said nodding to his friend. The Extractor looked at the Teenage Girl. "Thank You Sybil. For keeping my Children safe."

~ The life of France dictated: with good friends, comes good food. They had a very late dinner at the Hotel and ate and laughed. The Children fell asleep quickly after their Father put them to bed.

"Hey Sybil?" Cobb asked coming back downstairs. "Why did the kids say they were in Amsterdam?" Sybil looked innocent and confused.

"I don't know. Maybe their retarded."

Ariadne tried to smother a laugh.

"We were in Amsterdam." She admitted. "I couldn't reach Miles. I had us held up at a youth hostel. I colored my hair to hide us." She said flicking at the light tresses.

"If Saito hadn't have found us, we were going to hide in Russia next." She finished out.

"Thank God he found you." Eames sighed.

The Extractor could not be angry at her. Everything she had done was to protect James and Phillipa. They were all he had left.

All he had left of Mal.

~ The next morning, the Team was making plans to return home.

The Girl did not want to return to Japan.

"I hate that school. Those kids are all so _stupid_!" She declared. Eames sighed. The two of them understood one another. They possessed similar personalities. The Girl's sudden unwillingness to return to Japan with Saito was being listened to by the Forger.

"A privet school then?" He offered.  
>"<em>No!<em>" Sybil said hotly. "There are _no_ kids like me. Who have seen the things I have. I'm not like them and you know it!" She said. "I don't want to got to school anymore."  
>"Sybil, you have to get an education." Saito said patiently.<p>

"I know that." She said. "I was hoping to be home school. Live in London or Amsterdam."

"On your own?" Eames laughed. "You may be mature for your age but your still a child, Darling."

"I could live with you." Sybil said casually.

"Me?" Eames huffed. "How am I going to home school you? I don't know anything."

"Well no shit you don't know anything, Eames." Sybil said sarcastically. "I can do all the classes online. I think I'll be better with you then with Saito."  
>"Were you really unhappy with us?" The Japanese Business Man asked. Trying to disguise the hurt.<br>"No, but you and Yori need your own space. Time alone together. Just like Arthur and Ariadne need theirs. Cobb needs to be there for his kids. Eames is the only who is alone."  
>"Oh so you don't mind crowding me then?" The Forger laughed.<p>

"No, not at all." Sybil said.

~ The plan was made to scatter. All of them under new names for the time being. Saito, safely back to Japan, Cobb to America, Sybil and Eames to Amsterdam, Yuseff to London.

They had all agreed to make contact in one month. Cobol was still out there.

~ Arthur had planed to take Ariadne with him. That morning when he knocked on her door, he found her room empty.

"She left this morning." Eames said shrugging his bag over his shoulder. "Left this for you." He said giving the Point Man an envelope. Arthur nodded and opened it after he waved goodbye to Sybil and Eames.

_Arthur,_

_ June 1st, Isle of Crete. Heraklion, "The Minotaur"_

_ All my Love,_

_ Ariadne_


	26. Chapter 26

Dream of Me

_"Our intetion creates our reality." _

_Wayne Dyer_

**June 1st, Isle of Crete. Heraklion, **

~ Arthur like to imagine life here in ancient times, but it was hard to do.

The Island had become modern over the centuries and all traces of the the land that created the myth of Theseus, the Labyrinth, and the Minotaur were gone.

Even in September, the air was heavy with heat. Arthur had spent the past month in New York and then L.A.

Miles was fine and recovering in his home with Cobb and the kids. Other then one phone call with Eames, he had no contact with any of the Team.

It had been a lonely month. He was used to sharing his life with the others. Had done so since Ariadne's kidnapping. Now, there was no one around him. No one to talk to.

Arthur walked across a port of fine, expensive sailing yachts. The kind that were built for traversing around the globe. Finally he came across a small but elegant blue and white sailing ship. On it's stern was hand painted in beautiful script. "The Minotaur" It was an older vessel, but held all the clean fine lines of style that the modern world no longer produced.

"She was my Grandfather's" Ariadne explained.

Arthur looked up to see her lovely form walking around the deck to greet him.

"After my parents died, he took me sailing all over the Mediterranean and Europe." She sighed and seemed sad at the memory. "We sailed every summer. Just him and me. I was so happy."

Arthur just looked at her. She looked happy. In simple tan dockers and t-shirt. The sun had kissed her face and hair, giving her a healthy look.

"After he died, I had her dry docked. I wanted to take her out again." She finished.

"She's lovely." Arthur commented. "Minotaur?" He added with a raised eyebrow.

She smiled

"He loved Greek Mythology." She explained. "The story of Theseus, was his favorite. It's why I had him buried here in Crete."

Arthur found himself walking to the stern to meet his lady.

"He said Theseus was a great hero, not because he defeated the Minotaur or found his way out of the Labyrinth, but because he save the people of Athens at great risk to himself when he didn't have to."

"Theseus couldn't have done anything without the Mistress of the Maze." Arthur smiled up at her. "She gave him a sword and the ball of string. She saved him. What was her name again?" He feigned thoughtfulness. Ariadne laughed and pretended to think as well.

"I'm glad you came." She said at last.

"I wish we could have come here together." Arthur admitted sadly. She sighed.

"I talked to Braker yesterday." She told him.

Arthur was surprise but kept in his voice a tone of non-interest. Even after all that had happened, he still didn't care for the Australian Extractor. He was too handsome, too flirting and Ariadne liked him.

"How is he?" He asked instead.

"Very well." She said. "Yori's treatments are working wonders. They hope to be back in the game soon."

Arthur nodded running his hand over the metal railings of the ship.

"Yori's pregnant." She added.

This news caught the Point Man off guard.

"Wow. Saito didn't waste any time." he said with a smile. Ariadne nodded.  
>"I think he was wanting a family for a long time now." She admitted. Arthur nodded.<p>

"I heard from Eames." he said. "He likes it in Amsterdam. Something about the red light district." She smiled.

"How is Sybil?" She asked.

"Fine. Happy." Arthur said. "Acting like a normal teenager, finally. I think her and Eames get along really well."

"That's good." She said softly. "Miles?"

"Recovering very well at home with Cobb and the kids." Arthur said putting his hands in his pockets. For a long while the pair said nothing. Finally Arthur had had enough.

"If were done with the catching up and polite small talk," he finally said. "Can I ask why you just... left?" she sighed.

"I thought we might need some time apart." She said finally.

"Something could have happened to you." He said. His voice was kind. Not out to scold.

"I was careful." She told him.

"Why did we need time apart?" He asked.

"To see how we feel... about each other." She told him.

"No, I know how I feel about you." Arthur said his voice suddenly angry. "I didn't need time off."

"Maybe I needed some time." She said softly. He nodded.

"Now that you have had time... what's the verdict?" He asked.

"I was mad that you threatened to stop me from going on the mission. You and the others, you always treated me like a Team member. I didn't like being treated like some silly girl." She told him

"Your going to have to forgive me for always wanting to protect the woman I love." Arthur said curtly. "That is something I'll always do. I'm not apologizing for that."

He met her eyes and sighed. Ariadne looked angry and nodded.  
>"I thought you might say that." She said standing up.<br>"So what now?" He asked.

"I was planing on sailing to Australia. To see Braker." She looked over her boat.

"Alone?" He asked

"No, I was planing on a partner." She told him indifferently

Arthur nodded and pretended to not be interested. Thoughts of the Australian Extractor came to his mind.

"Have you ever been sailing Arthur?" She asked. He tried hard not to smile.

"No." He admitted. Leaning on the railing of the ship.

His Lady leaned down to look him in the eye. His feet were still on the dock and Ariadne couldn't help but feel she was on a balcony and her Knight was waiting for her below. She suddenly smiled at him. She couldn't help it. It had been far to lonely without him, without even dreams of him for comfort.

"I can't let you on board." She told him sadly. Arthur looked stunned and hurt. He let go of the railing and leaned back.

"Oh." He said. She shrugged.

"You have to ask _permission_ to come aboard." She said with a sly smile.

It was with fluid movements the Point Man scaled the railing onto the deck and took her in his arms. His mouth was on hers in an instant as he barely got out over warm welcome kisses

"Permission to come aboard?"

She laughed as she wrapped her arms around her neck and whispered

"Granted."


	27. Chapter 27

A Return to Bliss

_The natural man has only two primal passions, to get and beget. _

_William Osler _

~ Over the next few days, It seemed all Arthur did was work on learning the ins and outs of sailing.

Ariadne was much more experienced at the life and at times he was reminded of his teaching her the dream world. The work was difficult, but a luxury. He would always find his way into his Lady's arms and her bed at the end of the day.

After much discussion and arguments, they had mutually decided on a proactive contraceptive for Ariadne. One that would not have any barriers or worry. One that would not endanger his desire to have children with her someday.

They started their journey on the open see after only a month. Ariadne was not sure how long it would take to make the trip, but they both felt time was not an issue. They had all the time they wanted now. Cobol could _never_ find them out at sea.

~ One evening after a light dinner the couple was sitting on the deck looking at the stars. They had more then their share of wine and were enjoying the isolated port off the coast of North Africa.

Arthur was feeling somewhat uninhibited and couldn't get something out of his mind.

"That dress your bought in Paris a few months ago... you still have it?" He asked. Her warm body was curled into his. Her pheromones enticing him.

He had his arms wrapped around her and he breathed hotly into her neck. Ariadne felt her pulse and breath quicken as she reached behind her to run her finger though his hair.

"I only got that dress to make you mad." She explained feebly. "I never thought I would wear-"

"Do you still have it?" he interrupted sounding almost irritated.

"Yes" She whispered.

"Good, go put it on. Now. No panties." He ordered.

His voice was very stern. The Point Man showing himself instead of her kind and gentle Arthur. Ariadne didn't question him and didn't look at him as she left his arms and went below deck. Her face red with heat.

Arthur tried to calm himself slightly as he slowly finished the last of the wine and casually strolled below decks after her.

Inside the tiny bedroom they shared, she stood in all the glory of the pale, flesh colored dress. The sun had tanned her fair skin taking away some of it's blending, but she still looked almost indecently exposed.

Arthur nodded his approval but kept a deep scowl on his face.

"So, you got this, knowing it would drive me crazy." He accused.

Ariadne nodded.

"Yes." She answered, her voice small.

Her lover looked her over as she stood before him. She wore no under garments under the dress and it made her feel very naked. Her blush racing over her cheeks. Burning them.

She was enjoying the power he had over her this moment. The feeling that he was almost angry with her, that she should be frighted. She was not frightened of him. She was surprised to find herself excited by the fierce look he gave her. His eyes raking over her body. Objectifying her.

His large, steady hands gently pulled down the spaghetti strap of her dress. A fleeting moment of modestly made her shift the strap back over her shoulder only to have a cross look shadow his face.

"Your not allowed to do that." He said gently kissing her shoulder and pulling down both straps.

She gasped as the dress started to loosen. He was so good at exposing her body to him. She was so helpless before him. She felt that she could not resist him. That a part of her mind wanted to flee from him and put more clothes back on, but the heat coursing between her legs made her stay.

As if sensing her thoughts, Arthur's large hand was up her dress then, rubbing, exploring, almost making her knees buckle. She gasped at the sudden contact of foreign skin on her most intimate areas. Warm, strong and purposeful.

"You knew this would happen when you got this dress didn't you?" He growled in her ear.

She could barely think strait now, and could only manage was a nod as he lowered her now helpless body on to their bed.

"You _wanted_ to be a tease?" He asked, grinding her harder with his hand. His warm kisses pushing her dress down, as he laid bare her breasts to his hot breath. His moist lips and tongue exciting her flesh.

Her hands were free, but because of his handy work, they could do little more then make brief contact with her lover as she was resorted to gentle gasping. As sudden need for him over powered her as the tempo of hands on her sex grew faster and stronger.

Her sensitive, delicate sex was excited and hungry. The air combined with his warm hands elicited a dampness necessary for her taking.

Her mind raced as his fingers moved over her throbbing need. Tormenting her with steady intent petting and rubbing.

"Arthur!" She cried out, no longer able to take it.

"This is what a tease gets." He said with a mischievous smile. "A tease gets nothing." He added as her brain battled with anger and lust.

"Please." She started but couldn't put a sentence together as a her hips rocked shamelessly on his hand. Willing him to go deeper, harder, faster.

"You want to say, 'if you love me you'll do it' don't you?" He growled hotly in her neck gently nipping her with his teeth.

She softly cried out.

She couldn't answer as his assault on her continued.

"Well I _do_ love you." He said finally. His hand never retreated from its work on her body as his free hand moved rapidly to liberate himself of the barrier of clothing.

He wasted no time in claiming her. More rabid then their normal coupling. Ariadne was so close already as her lover drove himself deeper and hotter then he had ever dared before. She came to him then with screams and arms that he had to gently restrain. His hard, lean body eventually climaxing with his own growls and panting.

His face the deep angry scowl of the Point Man as he released himself into her body.

~ Afterwords, the elation had not left her body. She still feel the electric power her gave her running through her body. She didn't know what to do with it now. What to do with her hands or body as her lover rolled off her and took her in his arms.  
>"Shhh" He whispered. His breathing just as ragged as her own. She could think of nothing to say to him about what he had given her. The excitement, fear, ecstasy of it.<p>

"I don't know if I told you how much I love this dress." He said softly and she had to giggle.

Like a spell being broken, He was her kind and gentle Arthur again. And she was grateful.


	28. Chapter 28

Dream on...

"_Sin with me, sing for the year._

_Sing for the laughter sing for the tear." _

_Aerosmith, Dream On_

_**Cobb**- The Extractor_

_**Arthur**- The Point Man_

_**Ariadne**- The Architect_

_**Eames**- The Forger_

_**Saito**- The Business Man_

_**Yori**- The Doctor_

_**Sybil**- The Control, The Teenage Girl_

_**Delilah**- The Chemist_

_**Braker**- The Australian Forger_

_**James & Phillipa**- The Children_

_**Shin**- Saito & Yori's son_

_**Yuseff**- The Chemist_

**Thailand**

~ The Architect was looking over exotic fruit in the beautiful anarchy that was the local market. One of the best parts of traveling the world was being in places just like this. She snapped some pictures of the colorful produce. The smiling old vendors nodded their approval at the pretty American girl. She strolled happily though the maze of market goers and stands. The exotic and savage nature of this place. It suddenly came on her that this market, would make an excellent maze for dream extraction.

~ "Still have the bug huh?" Arthur asked that evening. They were fixing dinner together and she had told him of the mass confusion of the market. How when they decided to work in dream extraction again, that she intended to use it as a maze.

"So do you." She accused chopping onions. He laughed.

"_Course_ I do." He admitted. "I never did dream extraction for any other reason then the thrill of it."

He shrugged and looked at her slyly.

"That, and for the women." He said with an easy smile.

She playfully slapped his hands away from advancing on her and tried not to blush. Arthur had shared her home on "The Minotaur" for a year now. They had started their journey from Greece and sailed to Australia to see Braker and his Team. All of them were making remarkable strides in coming back from the mind manipulation of the PASIV-4.

Looking at the Architect and Point Man now, they were remarkably different from their first meeting in Paris 2 years ago. They were both tan and less careful with their looks. Ariadne had grown her hair out and had taken to dressing even more bohemian.

Arthur had gotten tired to trying to maintain his usual style. It was to difficult to make port for such things as a hair cut and he refused his lover's suggestion of letting it grow out. So, he had allowed her give him a very close cropped hair cut that he found much more freeing. He had given up his habit of careful suits in favor anything casual.

The couple had learned to adapt to the colorful countries they had visited. They were never tourists, they never stood out, they were just stopping by. Arthur left his Lady to finish cooking their simple meal chicken and fresh vegetables and checked his email.

"We got something from Saito." He told her. She nodded.

"I can't believe we'll be in Japan next month for Saito and Yori's ceremony." She said with a smile. "Get to see Cobb, and the Kids. Eames and Sybil." She said with a laugh. "She's already 15 now."

Ariadne shook her head. A smile on her lips.

"Cobb sent us those pictures of the kids last week, I can't believe how big they are." She sighed "And little Shin, Yori sent us pictures last week. He looks just like his mother."

"Ariadne." Arthur said coldly.

"You know, I still don't think it's a good idea of Sybil to have gone and stayed with Eames. I mean, he's not related to her. I know she's grown up for her age. I don't worry about that... I don't know. Eames is a bit of a rouge." She went on. Not hearing him.

"Ariadne."

"I know it's fine. Their both fine, but maybe we need to make a more permanent arrangements for her. Maybe a boarding school? I know she doesn't adjust well to other kids."  
>"Ariadne!" Arthur's tone was serious. The Point Man had suddenly returned.<p>

She turned and looked at him. He was hunched over the much used laptop, he tore his eyes away from the screen.

"Yuseff, he's dead." Arthur said softly.

**Tokyo**

~ The Forger and the Teenage Girl sat in a hole in the wall sushi hut. It was pouring down rain and the city still hummed along, despite the wet.

"Nothing like sushi in Japan." Sybil said woofing down her selection.

"Thought you didn't like Japanese cuisine." Eames said with a laugh.

"That was along time ago." She said shocked.

"It was only a year ago, Little One." He corrected.

She shrugged. Eames looked the same as always. He had put on a few pounds from the comfortable life he lead in Amsterdam. He shared the city in the Netherlands with Sybil. She has chosen to live with him because the two of them were both alone alone in the world. She didn't interfere with his life, and he gave her only the briefest of monitoring.

Her home school was easily done online with very little work on the Forger's part. They were comfortable with each other.

The Teenage Girl was now much taller and had taken on the lovely proportions of a young woman.

Her style however, was just as bold as ever. She was still blond, but with strong bolts of pink running down her tresses. Despite always wanting to remain a _shade_ in the minds of people around her, she always stood out.

Being a shade was still important. The Team still had to remain below radar. Cobol was no longer the force it had been a year ago, but they were still out there. The Team had to blend in.

"So when did they say they were gonna get here?" Sybil asked looking around the empty restaurant.

"There on a sail boat, Little One." Eames said.

His gaze never left the wall of rain that hid the city from him. He couldn't help but think that the rain hid everything. In a good way.

Suddenly, two figures came out of the shadow of the storm. Man and woman. Eames smiled as they approached the restaurant and the man held the door open for his companion.

Ariadne and Arthur looked wonderful. They booth looked healthy and happy. Arthur shook out the two umbrella's and nodded at the Forger.

"Good to see you." Eames said standing up and giving Ariadne a quick hug.

He was surprised when Arthur embraced him as well. Their skin was tan and the sun had bleached out their equally dark hair to a lighter hue.

"My God, you two look _amazing_." Eames said looking them over. "The love boat agrees with you then?"

The couple laughed and turned their attention to Sybil. After quick hugs and exclamations over how much she had changed, how good everyone looked, Things became more serious.

"Cobb will be down in a few hours." Sybil said. "He had to arrange for James and Phillipa to be taken care of."

"Why didn't he just bring them to Japan?" Ariadne asked. The Teenage Girl shrugged.

"I'm sure he has his reasons." Eames said.

"Tell us what happened to Yuseff." Arthur said. His voice had returned to the stoniness he had not used in so many months.

"He was in London." Eames began "Running his little 'Dreamers Den', he was found last month in a warehouse, He had been shot in the head. His employees said he had been missing for 6 weeks. Forensics said he had only been dead a few hours before his body was found. There was evidence of torture." The Forger finished looking uncomfortable.

"It was too precise to be Cobol." Sybil said nonchalantly. "He was taken quickly and stealthy. No ransom demands, no evidence, nothing. We still don't know where he was being kept." She shrugged as if the Chemist's death was nothing to her. "Cobol _never _dose anything that cleanly."

Arthur nodded remembering Ariadne's apartment in Paris after Cobol grabbed her. He looked at Ariadne then and saw she was lost in thought. The gravity of what was happening was hitting her very hard.

"What say we all head home?" Eames said, his voice suddenly bright. "Saito has kept the old place up. He and Yori are going to bring the baby by later."

Ariadne's face brightened at this. She smiled at Arthur and nodded.

~ A quick stop in the market and the group of four were back in Ariadne's old apartment. It was true Saito had kept it up. It was as if they never left. There was not even a musty smell. It felt like they had only been gone 15 minutes instead of 15 months.

Eames immediately went to the T.V. And started watching his games shows. Sybil put her travel bag in the guest room that had been hers before, and stayed there with the door closed.

Arthur and his Lady quickly unpacked in the room they would share before starting dinner. It had become their habit on ship to cook together, eat together, and clean up together. The confines of the ship made it hard to do things separately. It felt suddenly that the apartment was too big. They had more space then was needed.

"I bet it will be nice to sleep on dry land for a change." Eames said during a commercial break.

"Yeah." Ariadne said, "It will. I'll be glad to use my dark room again." She added cutting up vegetables. "I can't count how many rolls of film I have from India and Tibet. I haven't even touched them."

There was a soft knock on the door and Arthur let Saito and Yori in. Yori held a small baby in her arms swaddled in a blue blanket. The Architect smiled when she saw them.

In a sacred bond known only to women, Yori and Ariadne exclaimed over the baby. Saito beamed with the pride of new Fatherhood. The Doctor handed her son over to the Architect who couldn't decide if she wanted to laugh or cry over the new life. She found herself doing both.  
>"He's so <em>warm<em>." She said softly. Holding Shin and laughing.

"Watch yourself, Mate." Eames said to Arthur quietly. "I see the start of being baby crazy."

The Point Man cast the Forger a filthy look.

"Cobb's flight came in an hour ago. We picked him up." Saito said. He looked nervous. "He is downstairs with his new Chemist." He finished.

The group was silent at this.

"_New_ Chemist?" Arthur repeated. Saito nodded.

"She came from America with him." Yori added.

The group didn't have time to ask anything more of him because Cobb made his entrance. Behind him was his new Chemist.

She was tall, lean, exotic and very stunning. She had to be in her late 30s and looked very self poised. The kind of woman who took care of herself and had a very simple but elegant style.

"Everyone." Cobb said. He seemed shy. "I'm glad to see you all again."

The Team all looked at the woman. Cobb held out his arm and she stepped to his side.

"This is Delilah*." He said introducing her. "She and I have been working on extractions for a few months now."

The Team said nothing and only exchanged nervous glaces. It was a relief when Sybil broke the tension by noisily coming out of her requisitioned guest room.

She stopped when she saw the visitors. Her eyes widened. She help out a hand and pointed it at Delilah.

"She works for Cobol." The Girl said plainly.

*** Delilah, Hebrew, The woman who Samson loved and was his downfall. She seduced Samson to find out the secret to his strength. **


	29. Chapter 29

**Sorry about the reposting. FF is acting crazy right now!**

Revelations

"_Save your smile for  
>Everybody else you see.<br>'Cause I don't want the  
>One that you make for me."<em>

_Spare Change, Ingrid Michaelson_

~ As if Cobb's new friend had the plague, they backed away from her. Only Cobb stood by her. Ariadne handed the baby back to Yori as Saito put a protective arm around his family. Arthur positioned himself between Ariadne and Delilah.  
>"How do you know she works for Cobol, Little One?" Eames asked not taking his eyes off the interloper.<p>

"Because I _did_ work for Cobol." Delilah said calmly. Arthur shook his head.

"I already know about Delilah. Who she worked for." Cobb told them. "She is not with them anymore."

"No one just _stops_ working for Cobol." Sybil said curtly. Her eyes hard and unforgiving on Delilah.

"You did, I did." Delilah said. A finely tailored eyebrow arching.

"I_ never_ worked for Cobol." The Girl said in an emotionless monotone.

Delilah rolled her eyes. Mocking the Girl.

"Sybil has _earned_ our trust." Saito interrupted. "Many times over."

"Did she earned that trust with documents of a PASIV-4?" Delilah asked the Business Man.

She nodded as the Team looked at her with wide eyes.

"The PASIV-4 was never intended for practical applications. It was stolen from our research labs by rouge extractors. At first we thought it was all of you. You stole the first one. Cobol gave up on the PASIV-4 over a year and a half ago, After what happened to Jim. They started looking at... larger goals." Delilah said.

"_Larger_ goals?" Arthur repeated

"You, all of you." Delilah explained looking at each of them "Jim gave Cobol information about your Architect. Her talents. That fact she was able to trap him in a dream was more then enough to sell them on her."

"So is that's why your here?" Ariadne asked. "To bring me in?"  
>"No." Delilah said. "I defected from Cobol after your little inception of Browning."<p>

"We made it impossible for Browning to work with Cobol." Cobb told them. "They started to become more desperate with their dream manipulations."  
>"Careless." Delilah added looking up at Cobb.<br>"Cobb, we cant trust her." Sybil said. Her feet rooted to the floor. Her stare hard at Cobol's former chemist.

"Yes we can." The Extractor told the Girl

"_No we can't_." Arthur said harshly.

"Ariadne, this woman was behind your kidnapping. She thought it up. She prepared the compound that went you under and made you think Arthur and the others were going to kill you." Sybil said desperately.

Arthur snapped his full attention to Delilah. The Chemist nodded.

"That is true." She admitted. "I convinced Cobol to take her alive. Try and get her to work for us."

"What?" Ariadne breathed. The memories of her ordeal came crashing back to her.

"It was either that or kill you." Delilah said.

"Lets all sit down and talk this out." Cobb said. Always their calm and rational leader.

"No!" Ariadne said rebelliously. "That woman is not welcome here!"

Arthur nodded. His jaw set in a fierceness he had not needed to use in many months. Delilah nodded sadly and turned to the Extractor.

"Dom, I'll be down at that little coffee shop." She said laying a slender hand on his chest.

The demure gesture cause Ariadne's brain to start ticking. It was too intimate. Someone like herself or Yori would never do, but someone like Mal would have done.

~ It was at the large dinner table the Team collected themselves and Cobb started explaining.

"I met her 6 months ago while looking for Team members for a job." He told them. "She told me right away how she worked for Cobol. That she had been a Chemist for them. That she had created her own compounds according to Cobol's wishes."

"Tell us _exactly_ what she had to do with my kidnapping." Ariadne said feeling her face burn.

"She told me about it. He was honest right from the start. She knew Cobol was after Extractors, Forgers, and Architects. They selected people based on their skills and their ability to be manipulated into working for Cobol. They chose Ariadne because she was trained by us, because she was young, and she had only worked one job. They felt she could be manipulated easily." Cobb told them.

"Did _she_ chose me?" Ariadne asked feeling like Cobb's explanation was taking too long. She _had_ to know.

"Yes." Cobb said. "But like she said, if they didn't kidnap you, they would have killed you." Ariadne fell back in her chair. Her face betrayed the look of hurt.  
>"We can't trust her." Eames said<p>

"I remember Delilah. She was a top level Chemist. She put me under when I dreamed." The Girl looked at Cobb with cold eyes. "Lets just say it was not pleasant."

"I've been working with her for 6 months now. We have been on three extractions together." Cobb told them.

"So what?" Arthur said coldly. "You brought Cobol to our door. Exposed us."

"I trust her." Cobb told them.

"Because your sleeping with her?" Ariadne asked quietly. The Team fell silent at this. Cobb looked slightly embarrassed.

"That has nothing do with it." Cobb said finally.

"Yes it dose." The Architect said hotly. "Your asking us to trust this woman who selected me to be kidnapped and tortured."

Cobb never met their eyes as his Team stared back at him.

"We have new information about Mr. Yuseff." Saito said finally clearing his throat. "We believe he was held for some time after his kidnapping. It is possible he gave his captures detailed information about all of us under duress. It would be wise to assume he did just that."

"Braker and his Team will be coming in the morning." Yori told them.

The Doctor stood up holding her new son close to her.

"He needs to be changed." She said indicating the baby.

Yori looked at the Architect.

"Ariadne?" She asked.

The Architect seemed to have snapped out of a trance and looked up at The Doctor.

"Yes." She said with half a smile.

Ariadne stood up and walked over to the Teenage Girl.

"Sybil, come on." She said pulling the Girl's hand.

"Why do I have to go?" Sybil whined as Ariadne hushed her.

~Inside Ariadne's little bedroom, Yori changed her son. He was a happy baby. He cooed up at his Mother with genuine love and trust.

Ariadne had fled to the bathroom to wash her face, fearing tears might betray her true emotions.

"You know, I think this whole procreation thing is _way_ over rated." Sybil was saying watching Yori with interest. "I mean, it's not the greatest accomplishment of anyone's life. Look at all of the advances humanity has made. Look at the things you've done." She said gesturing to Yori.

"None of which would have been possible without procreation." Yori said with a smile. Humoring the Girl.

"Hmm." Sybil shrugged. "I never want to have kids."

"You will change your mind." Yori told her.

"No. I won't. You can't_ undo_ a baby. I think if my parents had the option to undo me, they would have." Sybil admitted.

"No, they would not." Yori told her. "I'm very glad your parents couldn't undo you."

"Cobb likes being a father." Sybil added. Ignoring the compliment. "So dose Saito."

She started to fidget. Ariadne had come out of her bathroom looking much better. The Girl looked at the Architect.

"You and Arthur are having sex right?" She asked.

Ariadne stopped and looked at her. Yori raised her head at this and tried not to smile. Sybil shrugged.

"You asked Cobb the same thing." She reasoned. "Do you think you and Arthur would ever have kids?"

"God, I don't know." Ariadne laughed, smoothing down the baby's hair as Yori picked him up. Sybil nodded.

"I think Arthur would be a good Dad." The Girl told them.

Ariadne looked at the Girl and blushed.

~ Later that night, the rain came back. Arthur and Ariadne were getting ready for bed. Since the Forger's apartment was a one bedroom, Sybil had made her home in the little guest room at Ariadne's and retreated there for the night. The always respected sanctuary of teens.

"We can always stay on the ship." Arthur said brushing his teeth.

"No." Ariadne said harshly. "I'm not letting that... _woman,_ run us off." She was finishing washing her face in the joint bathroom they had to share with The Girl. Cobb and Delilah were staying down the hall in the Extractor's old apartment.

"I wonder if James and Phillipa know about her." Arthur mused.

"I'm sure they do." Ariadne said rolling her eyes. "They most likely don't know _everything_ about her. What did you guys talk about after we left?"

"Cobb has a lead on the people who he believes killed Yuseff." Arthur said following her out of the bathroom. "He wants us to perform extractions on a man named Edwards. Thinks he may have answers."

"I'm not doing anything with that woman." Ariadne said. "We can do it without her."  
>"Cobb said she can make compounds that will cause the subject to lower the defenses of the subconscious." Arthur told her.<p>

She snorted.  
>"I'll bet she has." Ariadne said climbing into bed.<p>

He almost didn't say it. He almost turned out the light and went to sleep. It was something that was meant to come out.

"Do you want to have a baby of our own someday?" He asked.

Ariadne sat up.  
>"Did you and Sybil discuss all this before hand or something?" She accused.<p>

He laughed.  
>"I only ask because I saw how you looked at Yori and the baby today. It's something we never talked about. I think we need to talk about it." He admitted. She exhaled and shrugged.<p>

"I thought we were happy." She told him "The way things are."

"We are." Arthur said quickly. "I've never been so happy."

"Then why change things?" She asked.

"People change." He answered. "You never gave me an answer."

"Because I don't have one." She told him quickly. "What about you?" She asked. "Would you want kids?"

"If I did, I would want them to be with you." He told her.

She smiled a quick smile. He leaned over her then. Taking her body into his arms. He kissed her slowly and with the comfort they shared with each other. He broke the kiss and met her eyes.

"I would have to see your baby pictures before I made any final commitments." He said seriously. She giggled into his kiss then as she wrapped her legs around his hips.

"Sybil's in the next room, we have to keep it down." She whispered.

"No promises." He told her, a hungry look in his eyes. "I told you, we should have stayed on the boat."

He reached below her nightgown and grazed his hand up. He was annoyed at finding satin where he should have found skin.

"You know better." He said harshly tearing down her panties.

She gasped as she held onto his bare back. She found her hips starting to rock with him in a rhythm of anticipation.

"I'm sorry." She said innocently.

"No your not, but you will be." He growled pulling off her night gown.

He was on her then, like a savage. Grinding his hips into her soft body, his lips and breath tasting her. She felt her body grow hot and out of control as her lover claimed her. He was so much stronger and harder. He commanded her body to react to him and she gave over to him willingly.

It came on her suddenly, as he road her to their completion. The only person she would ever want to bare a child with.


	30. Chapter 30

Samson and Delilah

_Delilah she climbed up on Samson's knee.  
>Said: "Tell me where your strength lies,<br>If you please"  
>Then she spoke so kind,<br>And she talked so fair.  
>Til Samson said:<br>"Delilah, cut off my hair."_

_Samson and Delilah, The Grateful Dead_

~ "Well." Delilah said sadly. "That went better then I thought."

"Better then I thought too." Cobb said as he watched her from their bed. It was raining outside again. The Extractor watched her undress. Her fine lean body. So well tended and smooth. Like Mal's had been.

Cobb had to struggle with the wants of his flesh when he first met this woman. She was everything a woman should be. Smart, confident, independent and beautiful. Her good looks were really just the final touch. He was inexplicably drawn to her.

Her smooth black hair and dark eyes. Her ethnicity, a fine, even mixture of all over the globe. Making her true origins hard to pin point.

When she found out who he was, she told him everything. Never tried to hide how she had worked for Cobol. The she had played a part in Ariadne's kidnapping. His first instincts had been of distrust. Only natural, but she had changed his mind. She didn't profess any innocence, never apologized.

"Don't worry." He told her as he watched Delilah's night gown hug her soft curves. Showing her erect nipples from the chill in the room.

"Their just suspicious of outsiders. Once they get to know you... They'll be fine." He assured her.

She nodded. Her long lean body moving over him. Her smooth skin intruding over his night shirt, running over his skin.

He gave into his needs. Not able to resist the spell she had cast on him. The first night he had met her, he took her to his bed. They had stayed up all night drinking. Closing down the bar in Bali. He kept staring at this beautiful woman. Wondering what her skin would feel like on his.

Wanting to touch her. Dreaming of touching her. Her sexy American accent coming out of those full lips. Like the sirens calling to Odysseus.

She had answered his call to a chemist without realizing he was the Dom Cobb. Something about her made him not dismiss her out of hand. Had trusted her. She hooked him up to the PASIV device. He tried not to look down her blouse at the well between her breasts. While he was under, he dreamed of her.

In Bali, they had shamelessly given into lustful urges each night. The Extractor, feeling more healthy yet powerless each time to her each time. During the daylight, they were nothing but professional. Keeping their erotic life, secret. Or so they thought.

"Ariadne, knows about us." Cobb breathed as this woman was kissing his neck. Her legs straddled over him. Her night gown off. He gazed up at her. Lost to the glories of her naked body. Rich and feminine.

He could feel the heat between her legs coming off her. Reaching to his own excitement. Causing blood to pump quickly to all extremities.

"I'm not ashamed. Are you?" She purred. Her dark hair a curtain over the both of them as her lips returned to his. Her bottom wiggling on his lap. The friction weakening him.

"No." He gasped. Breathing hard.

"I want you." She said simply. Her fingers roaming spider like to his erection.

Cobb relaxed and let her take him. Allowed him to use his body. She took possession of him, Moving swiftly to fit him inside her damp sex.

He exhaled sharply. The tight feel of her. Her magnificent body moving and writhing over him. Spinning a dangerous spell over his mind.

All Cobb could do was hold onto her hips as she rode him. His eyes moving over her fine body, her perfect breasts. The feel of her hot sex pulling all of him in as she forced him to come.


	31. Chapter 31

Wake Me Up

"_In waking a tiger, use a long stick." _

_Mao Tse- Tung_

~ The rain finally let up. Cobb had called them into a meeting that morning at Saito's office buildings. Arthur was grateful that he still had his Japanese drivers licenses that enabled him to take himself, Ariadne, Eames and Sybil there without resorting to ghastly public transportation.

Saito's office was still the lovely modern building. Simple and elegant. When the four of them arrived at their normal conference room, Ariadne saw Delilah. She tried to turn around but Cobb's voice stopped her.

"I know I should have said something." He said. "I should have said something a long time ago. But we need to work together right now."

"We have new information about Yuseff's kidnappers." Delilah told them.

Eames rolled his eyes.

"I'll bet you do." The Forger said casually taking a seat at the large conference table.

Ariadne looked at Arthur who nodded to a chair. He had been Cobb's friend for too long. He had stood by his side when the Extractor lost his wife, had to leave his Children, and was haunted by guilt. How could he abandon him now? Ariadne, for Arthur's sake, took a seat next to the Forger. Arthur sat down and finally Sybil slumped in a chair.

"A man name Priam Edwards* is the CEO of a technology company in the States. They have bought parts of Cobol as well as Fischer/Marrow." Delilah said. "One of the parts they bought from Cobol was dream extraction. For the past six months, they have been assimilating information as well as extractors."  
>"They want to do the same thing as Cobol." Cobb finished. "Use extraction and inception to influence anything from the stock market, to war."<p>

"Dream extraction really is Pandora's box eh?" Came a familiar voice. The Team turned around to see Braker and the rest of the Australian Extraction Team arriving.

"Braker!" Ariadne said standing up. A smile on her face for the first time that day.

"Hello, Gorgeous." The Australian Forger smiled as he gave the Architect a big hug in reunion.

Arthur scowled. Ariadne and Braker had been kidnapped by Cobol almost two years ago. He had helped her realize that Cobb and the rest of her team were coming for them, thus helping them both escape. She had been close to him ever since.

When the Australian Team was ambushed and gassed on a plane to Tokyo last year, the fear their minds were lost, was a very real thing. Yori had used all her talents to bring them all back. It had taken a long time, but Yori's gift of bringing lost minds back from the dream world was something the Team could never repay her for, and never do without.

"Braker, this is Delilah." Ariadne said before leaning into the Australian Forger and whispering something. Braker nodded.

"We know all about her, Beautiful." He told her. "We met her a few months ago on a job Cobb took us on." Ariadne looked stunned.

"What?" She asked backing away.

"She has a compound that will make us impervious to Limbo." Braker told her.

"What do you mean?" Sybil asked looking at Delilah.

"He means, that if you drop into limbo, you can stay there for 50 years and it wont become your reality." Delilah said "You won't remember a thing."

"How?" Eames asked

"Cobol's research. The PASIV compound makes the dream world very sharp and real. It also makes limbo very real to. With _my_ compound, if you wind up in Limbo, you wake up and forget it just like a normal dream."

"We _have_ to remember our dream extractions." Eames told the Chemist in a catty tone. "The compounds we used help us to remember them. If we forgot them like a normal dream, extraction would be useless."

"Yes, and it also has the benefit of confusing your reality." Delilah said evenly. She cast a sorrowful look at Cobb. "Especially Limbo."

"We will still remember our extractions, our _planned_ dreams, just not the dream space of Limbo." Cobb told them.

"How do you know this will work?" Ariadne asked.  
>"Delilah specialized in Limbo. In sending people there." Sybil said not taking her eyes off the Chemist.<p>

"We've tested it." Braker said. "We used a sedative like for the Fischer job, then dropped into Limbo." The Australian Forger sat down next to his Team Mates and sighed. "I remember very little of it."

"What about the top levels?" Eames asked intrigued.

"Clear as a bell." The Australian Chemist added. "Only Limbo felt like an old fashioned dream."

"We can use this new compound on Edwards." Cobb added. "We _will_ use it on Edwards."

"How did you perfect this compound?" Sybil asked in a snotty voice, seeming to already know the answer. "Tell them. About your research."

"While I was at Cobol. We sent subjects into Limbo." Delilah said avoiding the Girl's eyes. "They never had access to my research. I took it with me." Delilah said swiftly

"Not what I asked." Sybil said. Her voice was cold and she meet Delilah in the eye. "How did you perfect the compound? What kinds of tests did you use?" Delilah sighed.

"We tested the compound on a few extractors... and Sybil." The room grew silent. Delilah shrugged. "Her Father gave us permission. She has a natural gift for the dream world. We think the younger you are... the easier it is." Ariadne stood up.

"Goodbye." She said taking Sybil's hand. The two of them left the extractors to their new chemist. Arthur looked at them leaving and did not follow.

~ "Tell me about it." the Architect said. They were in a crowded market place. A light rain was dusting lazily over the shoppers who carried umbrella's.

Sybil and Ariadne walked unprotected against the threat of a downpour.

The Girl sighed and pretended to be interested in the tourist trap of light up toys.

"At first it was only dreams with the PASIV. Then they took me deeper. Then... I lost myself." She admitted sadly.

"How old were you?" The Architect asked.

"Twelve." Sybil said casually. "After I came back from that, I'd had enough." She told her "I stole money and the PASIV-4 documents from my Dad, came looking for Cobb and his Team. I knew from those documents that you were the people to find."

"How long were you in Limbo?" Ariadne asked.

"A long time." Sybil said looking strait ahead. Not meeting Ariadne's eyes.

The Architect noticed that the Girl had grown taller then her and had to smile despite the grave conversation.

"Long enough have lived a lifetime down there. Then pulled back into the real world. Thrown back into the body... of a girl." Sybil shook her head.

Ariadne didn't know how to provide comfort. Cobb had been lost in Limbo for fifty years and it haunted him still. He sometimes had the look of a man who had lived for a long time. Too long.

Saito was also prone to the same look after the Fischer job. Their time in Limbo had greatly effected them.

They were grown men, how must it have affected a girl not even in her teens? Sybil had always seemed older then her age. She routinely passed herself off as being older and usually got away with it. Now Ariadne knew why.

The Architect followed the Girl though the market. Ignoring the driving rain.

~ "What did you and Sybil talk about?" Arthur asked as the couple did the dishes. Sybil had retreated to her room after eating. It had been a solemn dinner with only the three of them. Arthur had the good sense not to ask Sybil anything.  
>"She was in Limbo." Ariadne told him. She handed him a dish to rinse. "For a long time. We always thought she was mature for her age because of T.V or something, but..." Ariadne couldn't finish.<p>

Arthur remained silent.

"What did Delilah say after we left?" She asked him

"If it's true, it's amazing." Arthur admitted. "Cobb and Braker have both been in. We can trust them."

"We can't trust her." The Architect said

"There was a time we couldn't trust Sybil." Arthur told her.

"Sybil never put a twelve year old in Limbo. It must have been horrific for her. It must be still be difficult. Mal killed herself after coming back." Ariadne said letting her hands play over the soapy water. Her thoughts wandered away from her as silence fell between them. She felt Arthur's warm lips on her forehead. He had leaned over and kissed her, breaking her free of her own oblivion.

*** Priam, King of Troy during the Trojan War.**


	32. Chapter 32

Homecoming

"_You can't go home again." _

_Thomas Wolfe_

~ A few days later, the Team was in New York.

After much debate, planing and experiments, everyone had agreed to join Cobb and Delilah on the mission to extract information from Edwards.

Arthur and Ariadne left their boat, under harbor master's care, back in Japan. They had all flown on a privet plane back to the states. It had been an uneventful flight. Yori and Shin had accompanied them. The reason being that it was too long of a flight to Japan if something went wrong and the new parents were unwilling to leave there precious baby in the care of a nanny.

Saito had set all of them, The Australian Team included, up in a hotel. He had bought out the entire floor for their privacy. The Team stayed cloistered there as they prepared for the mission and waited.

Arthur had other ideas.

~ It was a warm sunny day as he escorted Ariadne through the bustling people. All hurrying to their destinations. Typical New Yorkers.

"Why don't we just take a cab?" She asked.

"Because this is New York," He laughed "everyone walks."

"Where are we going?" She asked linking her arm in his.

"I thought, since I've seen your home in Paris, and Japan, as well as our home at sea... you might want to see where_ I_ live. Or used to live anyway." He told her.

She looked up at him in surprise.

"Arthur, We've been abroad for almost 2 years now. How have you kept an apartment up?" She asked looking suspicious. He smiled and didn't reply.

It was a magnificent building. Complete with an attentive doorman. When the couple entered the building the doorman, an older and grandfatherly little man, clasped his hands together and produced a wide smile.  
>"Oh Sir!" He said. "I'm so glad to see you back. And with a friend as well. How wonderful."<p>

"Sam." Arthur said shaking the little man's hand and smiling a comfortable smile "This is Ariadne." The Point Man put his hand on her back. Proudly showing her off.

"Nice to meet you." She said shaking his hand. A blush coming to her cheeks. Sam put his finger to his nose and gave her a swift wink.  
>"Now, I knew Arthur here when he was just a little boy. His mother, was a lovely woman." The Doorman sighed. "It was so nice to see the fine young man he grew up to be. Well, I suppose you don't want to hear this old man ramble on." He laughed trying to take Arthur's carry all.<p>

Arthur smiled and waved him away playfully. Sam patted the Point Man on the back as he escorted them both onto a waiting elevator.

"Sam, Ariadne will be on my visitors list." Arthur told him on the ride up.  
>"Very good to hear, Sir." Sam said.<p>

Ariadne felt her cheeks grow warmer as she tried to avoid the Arthur's eyes. As the elevator dinged opened Arthur escorted his Lady out. The Point Man felt a gentle pull on his sleeve. He turned his attention away from The Architect to the Doorman who whispered:

"She's lovely, Sir."

Arthur smiled and nodded as Sam stepped back into his elevator and closed the door. Ariadne was waiting for him to return to her. He fumbled with his rarely used keys and unlocked one of only two doors on the floor.

Ariadne gasped at the inside of the apartment. It was large by any standards, let alone Manhattan. She thought briefly of her small apartment in Paris and how proud she felt to have such a nice home in a trendy neighborhood. This apartment made her's look plain and poor.

The living room was modern and elegant. A smattering of antique furnishings tastefully mixed in. The kitchen was a chef's dream. A banquet could easily be prepared in it. Ariadne caught a quick glimpse down a hall to what she thought went to other rooms. The living room alone was four times the size of her place in Paris. She couldn't find words.  
>"You grew up here?" She asked finally. Arthur sighed.<br>"I spent a lot of time away at school. After that, I joined the military. After I left the Military, I was working with Cobb on Extractions." He explained. "This was the place I _called_ home." He said looking up at the vaulted ceilings and expensive décor.

It suddenly dawned on her. The tailored suits. The careful manners. The ability to drop everything and sail around the world with her for a year.

"Your rich." She said flatly.

He chuckled.

"I'm fine." He admitted. She shook her head.  
>"No, <em>fine<em> is affording a mortgage and a car payment. You have a _huge_ home in Manhattan that you don't even use and no _real_ job." She said with a laugh wondering how she could be so stupid.

"My parents left me this place after they died along with an inheritance. I invest in the market. My work in extractions gives me leverage." He admitted.

"Insider trading?" She said with a raised eye brow.  
>"<em>Language<em>." He accused in a shocked tone. "We never talked about money before."

"We never talked about kids before." She said with a smile "We spent a year together and didn't _talk_ about anything."

"Well, we were busy... with... doing...stuff." He searched for the right words and when they came to him, she giggled.

"What about you?" He asked. "You've never cared about finding a real job."

She shrugged.

"Well, my Parents left me some holdings. My Grandfather managed them very well. When he died it was all in a trust for me and my education. He wanted me to study anything I wanted, anywhere I wanted. He wanted me to be provided for." She shrugged looking out the window at an impressive view. "He left me the apartment in Paris as well as _The Monitor_. I guess money was never a real issue for me." She finished almost apologetically. He nodded.  
>"I don't really talk about all this..." He said waving a hand around the expansive home "Because it was never really who I am, or wanted to be." He sighed. "I think the past two years, living in Japan, Morocco, on the boat. I think of those place as my home."<p>

He came up beside her and slipped his arms around her waist. Ariadne kept looking out the window. Pretending not to be affected by the Point Man.

"My home is where ever you are." He whispered in her ear. He started to kiss her ear then. Her neck. Taking her her from behind, he wrapped his arms around her, preventing her escape. She was breathing hard as the Point Man started to loosen her clothes.

"Arthur." She said softly. As if invoking his name awakened something in him, he turned her around and before she had time to react she was in his arms. He had swept her off her feet in his normal graceful movements.

"Let me show the bedroom." He said, pure lust in his eyes.

She kissed him softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed him to carry her down a long hallway. A hallway adorned with original artwork from post war British painters.

The master suit was larger then her entire apartment in Paris. A massive oak bed with columns and canopy dominated the space and made Ariadne gasp. It was like something out of a fairy tale. She blushed softly at being so impressed at something Arthur cared nothing about. He had willing left a posh apartment in a vibrant city, to live with her on a small sailing ship visiting countries with very little luxury. A fondness for the Point Man overcame her then.

"I love you, Arthur." She whispered in his ear. He smiled at her.

Then, his face suddenly turned icy. He raised his head and gently put her down. She looked up at him, worried she had done something wrong.

Arthur put his index finger to his lips. She nodded and found her pulse was beating rapidly. He left her standing in the middle of the bedroom as he vanished into a closet that was concealed behind a wall. The rooms were silent. She knew something was wrong. The Point Man had heard something she didn't.

Then, gruff noises invaded. Pounding and sounds of a struggle. Out in the hall Arthur appeared, he had a man on the floor. The Point Man held his large hands on the intruder. Ariadne felt her heart race at seeing him.

"Who are you?" Arthur said curtly. There was blood on the intruder's face. "Who sent you here? Answer me."

The Point Man started gripping the intruders neck. The man gasped and struggled for breath. The man's face turned red as Arthur focused all his concentration on making the invader hurt.

"Arthur." came Ariadne's small voice.

As if being broken from a spell, Arthur looked up. The sense of what he was doing flooded over him them. This was not something he wanted her to see.

"Don't look at this." Arthur said harshly. "Go into the bedroom, lock the door and call 911." He nodded at the Architect who just stood there, looking at both of them in shock.

"Ariadne." Arthur said softly. His eyes were soft and kind on her.

She nodded then and locked the bedroom door. Despite calling the police. She could still hear the loud sounds of fists hitting a face and Arthur's demanding who the man was.

The Police came quickly. They were kind and apologetic to what they assumed were a young couple coming home to find a robbery in progress.

"Normally we don't advocate fighting intruders." The officer said. "But after seeing what happened to your Doorman downstairs, You were right to defend yourselves."  
>"Sam?" Arthur asked. "What about our Doorman?"<p>

"I'm sorry Sir, I didn't know he was a friend." The Officer said looking deeply remorseful. "The gentleman was shot in the head. He was left in the elevator. A neighbor had also called us. Why we were here so fast." The Point Man felt the wind go out of him as he watched the intruder was hauled out of his home. If only the police hadn't come. If only his Lady was not there. What wouldn't he do to this man who killed his friend.

Ariadne was still safely stashed in the bedroom. Arthur knocked softly on the door.

"Ariadne, it's me." he said in a low voice. "The police are gone." She opened the door and embraced him.

"Arthur," She breathed into his chest as he held her close to his capable body.

"I didn't want you to see that." He tried to explain

"No, it's okay." She started crying. "When I was taken... I would imagine you hurting those men just like that."

Hot bitter tears were running down her face onto his dress shirt and vest. He smoothed her hair.

"It was my favorite thing to do in that basement." She finished.

She had told him all the details of her experience with Cobol's kidnappers. He was always assuring her that he would never allow anyone to take her again, always followed by tender lovemaking.

"Arthur," She said softly "I don't want to stay here." She said

"Okay." He said simply kissing the top of her head. "We can go." He released her and took her hand. He quickly grabbed their two bags and handed her the worn leather carry all she always took everywhere. They had reached the door when she stopped him.

"I want to say good bye to Sam first." She said.

Arthur sighed.

"Ariadne..."


	33. Chapter 33

Action

"_Sex alleviates tension, Love causes it"_

_Woody Allen_

~ "Thank God your both alright." Eames was saying. It was evening when the Point Man and the Architect had returned to the hotel in defeat. Arthur had wanted a lovely day out with his Lady. He wanted to make love to her, take her out to eat, show her his favorite haunts. Instead, after he broke the news to her of Sam, they wanted nothing more then to call the Team and return to the safety of their friends.

"Who was he?" Cobb asked.

"Took some work, but he admitted that he works for Edwards." Arthur said sitting down in a comfortable chair. He felt exhausted.

"As far as the police were concerned, he broke his fingers in the fight." he added sharply.

Cobb and Eames exchanged dark looks.

Ariadne had retreated with Sybil and Yori to a bedroom.

Delilah stood in the other room. Not apart of the Team, and still with them.

Eames had poured his friend some scotch in ice and handed it to the Point Man. Arthur nodded and gently sipped it before rubbing the cool glass on his head. He almost never drank. It wasn't his or Ariadne's style.

"Edwards knows were here." Cobb said. Saito stood.

"I'm alerting hotel security and engaging a privet guard." The Business Man said. Cobb nodded. "Cobb," Saito added sadly "Perhaps you should contact the people who are with the Children."

Cobb followed Saito out of the room to make calls necessary to protect their families.

"I'm sorry this happened." Delilah said leaving her isolation. Arthur cut her a hard look.

"Just tell me were close to getting this job started." The Point Man said.

~ It was nearly midnight before everyone could gather in the now crowded hotel suite. With Cobb and Braker's team, as well as Saito and Yori, there were thirteen of them.

When Delilah had told Braker what happened to Ariadne in Arthur's home, the Australian, had given her a warm hug. Whispered she had made it through worse, that Edwards didn't know who he were messing with.

"What bloody fool would pick a fight with the Architect who could trap Cobol's extractor?" He asked her.

Ariadne had cast an appreciative smile at the Australian. She seemed to take what he said to heart. Arthur could only fester. Braker had a natural way with Ariadne. He had never asked her about how close they were. He sensed it was platonic. Like her relationship with Cobb or Eames. But there was something special about their friendship.

"Edwards sent an assassin to Arthur's home here in the city." Cobb told them. "We need to step up our extraction."

"As well as our possible Inception." Eames added from the window. The Forger looked down at the people walking, city that never sleeps. "We don't know what we may find in his mind."

"How many of us are going in?" Sybil asked.

"Your not." Cobb answered her. Sybil looked hurt. Cobb, sensing he didn't appreciate her skills, added "We need you outside as our control. The Team is large and Yori needs your experience in case something goes wrong."  
>"In case you have to go in like before." Yori added. Sybil seemed appeased by this.<br>"But that is not going to happen." Cobb said. "The Team is the Australians, Myself, Delilah, Eames, Arthur and Ariadne."

"Ten people all sharing the dream? Why so many?" Ariadne asked.

"CEO's are being taught by extractors to defend themselves." Braker told her. "We have to assume Edwards subconscious is like an army. My Team is trained for this kind of work."  
>"Looks like you have your work cut out for you." Cobb said nodding to her.<p>

"I'm up for it." Ariadne said with a smile.

"You can work with our man Roy here." Braker said patting the short Australian Architect on the back. "He's rubbish, but better then nothing."

"How many levels?" Eames asked.

"Five." Delilah said. "There is no fear of Limbo now. We can use a sedative to stabilize each level."

"Five levels, will be very hard to sync a kick to. With Fischer and Browning, we were lucky." Arthur said, ever the pessimist.

"No, you were good." Delilah said. "All of you knew your jobs, understood the dream world and were able to work together. That is why Cobol is afraid. That is why Edwards sent a man after you. Because he's afraid."

"Arthur's right." Eames said turning away from the window. "We were lucky the past few times. We need to be very careful about how we bring ourselves back out again."

"We can use the music as a count down like before. We need to plan a simple kick on the top level, stronger, after each level down." Cobb said.

"Assuming this new compound works like in the experiments." Yori said "If you do drop into Limbo, you won't remember anything except the top levels. Limbo will seem like a normal dream."

"If there is a problem, how do we bring you out from our end?" Sybil asked. "Go into the dream and shoot you in the head again?"

"The machine will activate with each passing dream level." Delilah told her.

"It will tell you how deep were in. Give readings for each of us. When you see one of us go off the grid, they will be in Limbo. That's your cue to stop treatment and bring them out." Cobb told her. "Only I have more experience in Limbo then you do." He admitted. "Your the perfect Control." Sybil finally smiled at this. She had a real job, a role in the Team.

"So when do we grab this Edwards?" Arthur asked

"We need to find that out. Research his life. Find out if and when he will have any dental or medical procedures. Any long flights." Braker told the Point Man. Eames nodded.

"Anything that will put him under." The Forger added. "We also need one more thing." The group all looked at him. Eames shrugged. "We need a simple little idea."

~ As dawn broke, everyone felt the drag of exhaustion over take them. The privet security guards had arrived. A burly group of former military men. The type who loved their work and who's hearts never left the structure of the armed forces. They were quick to install metal detectors, and stopped anyone from coming onto the floor. Even the maid's cart was stopped and searched. The maid told to leave. One of the guards even went to the store to provide the team with food and other necessitates, making room service unnecessary.  
>"It's nice what money can buy." Eames whispered to Cobb nodding at the guards.<p>

~ Inside their privet suite, Arthur showered and tried to ignore the headache he felt coming on. Ariadne gave him a smile as he left the bathroom. The Teams had spent all night planning and now was the time to sleep. Arthur had no energy left in him and only put on pajama bottoms.

"Remind me never to drink again." He said crawling into their large clean bed. She laughed.

"So I guess fooling around is out the question?" She asked rubbing lotion on her arms. Arthur sat up and smiled.  
>"That's never out of the question. You know better then to ask." He said.<p>

She stood up and shed the white Kimono robe she had brought from Japan, to reveal a transparent nightie.

"When... when did you pick _that_ up?" He asked, his eyes wide. His hands moved under the covers as his blood started to race.

She smiled shyly at him.  
>"You know me." She explained. "Your not too <em>tired <em>are you?" She asked sweetly. He smiled and shook his head.

"Never." He said shifting under the covers as he removed his pajama bottoms. She climbed in the bed and knelt before him just out of arms reach. She could see his hand under the covers, working, working, working.

"Come here." He said hoarsely, looking at her body, totally nude under the sheer fabric.

"No." She said defiantly.

He shifted slightly, looking angry.

"Are you being a tease again?" He accused. His breath coming in and out rapidly. "You know what happens to a tease."

"I know." She said with a smile. She moved her hand down between her legs, rubbing herself. She bit her lip slightly and she rocked gently on her own hand. Arthur tried to reach for her, but she was just out of his reach.

He gasped, working himself harder. Looking at his Lady, her exposed body, her lips, red from her biting, her big eyes looking at him, her hands moving, her hips rocking.

"Come here!" He barked.

She smiled and shook her head. Her heavy breathing making her perfect breasts move rapidly up and down.

He had enough. With a mixture of anger and lust, he seized her. Her breathing was rapid as he pulled her under him.

"What did I say was going to happen to a tease?" He huffed angrily moving his hand over her now exposed area, hot and wet from her own touch. She gasped and arched and he delved his fingers into her. Grinding his hand on her.

"Arthur." She breathed hotly.

He was far too excited. She was too beautiful. He couldn't wait anymore to have her. Her body was desperate as he mounted and road her.

He told her to keep her eyes open as he trusted harder. She was gasping and rocking with him as he suddenly came. Breathless and now truly exhausted, he fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.


	34. Chapter 34

Dream Space

"_Living in dreams of yesterday, _

_we find ourselves still dreaming of future conquests."_

_Charles Lindbergh_

~ Arthur awoke to a sunset. Ariadne had just come in the room and sat beside him on their bed. She was wearing the white Kimono but had the modesty to wear silk pajamas under it. He breathed in the sight of her.  
>"You were most unladylike." He said softly. "I feel taken advantage of."<p>

She giggled.  
>"Are you hungry?" She asked "I made coffee and toasted some English muffins." He smiled at her as he twined his fingers in hers.<br>"I'm afraid." He said.  
>"Of what?" She asked looking worried.<p>

"That this is a dream and I'm about to wake up." He admitted feeling the luxury of a warm bed and a beautiful woman.

"Well, if you _do_ decide to wake up, I'll be in the kitchen." She said kissing him on the forehead.

~ After getting showered and dressed, Arthur joined his Team for breakfast. Ariadne, fully dressed, was showing Cobb and Sybil some of her photographs.

"The markets." She said pointing out each one. "Trust me when I was in them, if _felt_ like a maze. I thought they would be an excellent maze for the top level. Now here is the catch, what really makes the markets confusing is the different languages. If Roy is the dreamer, and I stay with him while the rest of you go deeper, my subconscious can help to populate the dream. I can fill it with projections of foreign speaking people. This can confuse Edwards projections."

"That's brilliant." Sybil declared looking up from the colorful Greek market in Ariadne's water colorings. "How many languages do you know?"

"I can get by in France, Spain, Greece, Japan, and Italy." Ariadne said nonchalantly.

"Hmm. You can _get by_ in all those places speaking English. I can _get by_ in all those places plus Brazil and China." The Girl said. "Cobb it should be me on the first level, I know more languages."

Cobb sighed.

"We have already been through this. Your our _control_." The Extractor said. "Ariadne, this is great. I want you and Roy on it right away."  
>"Do we have our simple idea yet?" Ariadne asked. Cobb shook his head.<br>"Edwards is a self made man." Arthur said helping himself to the coffee. "Self made men are not afraid of much. They are not easy to manipulate."

"Saito is a self made man." Sybil said "Maybe if we find out what he's afraid of, we can find out what our boy Edwards is afraid of." Cobb cast the Girl/Control a look.

A look that he reserved for Team members who came up with great ideas.

~ "Before Limbo, I was mainly concerned about foreign powers taking over." Saito admitted. He had joined them in the meeting the Team had assembled. "After Limbo, my priorities changed." He tried not to look at Yori.

"The threat of foreign influences on your country? Or foreign companies taking over?" Delilah asked.

"Both." Saito told her

"Japan can be a very isolated country." Yori explained. "Much of Asia is distrustful of western influences."

"The same can be said of many Americans." Cobb said. "I bet Edwards is just a xenophobic as anyone."

Ariadne nodded.

"Sure, there is a fear of immigration and outsourcing." She said. "There always hot button issues. Right up there with religion and abortion."

"How can we suggest that abandoning dream extraction will save his country?" Arthur asked. His small notebook and pen in hands.

"Dream extraction can give away government secrets. Most unpatriotic." Eames said.

"How would that stop him from utilizing extractions? Politicians preach things all the time and go right around a do them." Sybil said.

"In America, Dream extraction is not illegal, but not thought highly of." Braker offered. "Could we suggest he pay a senator off to make extraction illegal?"

"Right, Maybe campaign to put the genie back in the bottle?" Eames said.  
>"Yeah, anyone who has secrets is at risk. Edwards has secrets like anyone else." Ariadne added.<p>

"Make him believe that dream extractions and inceptions will hurt _him_." Saito said.

Eames smiled and pointed to the business man.

"_That_ is our simple idea." He said.

~ A few days went by. The Team was obsessed with planning the large extraction/inception. All of them worked day and night on the project. They were so busy Ariadne had not noticed Arthur had left for several hours. He returned later that evening to see his Lady working on sketches of mazes.

"Hello." He said taking off his coat. She looked up at him and frowned.

"Where did you go?" She asked. He looked distracted. "Umm, just out." He said.

"With Edwards people out for us?" She said suspiciously

"Yes." I was fine." He seemed nervous and went strait to their room.

~ "Save the date, Ladies." Eames said. "In one day, we go in."

"How?" Arthur asked.

"Edwards and his oldest son Hector* are taking a flight into Berlin. Saito's airline, first class, 13 hours at least." Braker told them.

"That sounds perfect." The Australian Chemist said.

"Too perfect." Sybil accused. "What if it's a trap?"

"We can gas them, the same way Cobol did us." Cobb said.

"I can prepare that." Delilah told them.

"We would have to stay in coach till we were up in the air." Arthur added

"Excuse me!" Sybil said shouted. "What if it's a trap?"

"That's why we have you as Control, Little One." Eames told her with a smile.

~ Later that evening Arthur watched Ariadne go to the bathroom for her shower before going to bed. He waited till he heard water running and drug out the PASIV device and hooked himself up.

Ariadne came out of the bathroom to see the Point Man dreaming peacefully on their bed. The hiss of the device telling her he was in a dream. She had to smile at him.

The old game of meeting in the dream world made her feel giddy. She hooked herself up to the PASIV and fell into the dream after him.  
>She awoke to Paris. The city of lights was empty of people and had all the reminders of the Paris Arthur had created for her while they had kept their relationship secret. She felt where Arthur was.<p>

She walked a quick path to the warehouse the Team had used while working on the Fischer Inception. A short elevator ride up and she arrived on the floor she thought she remembered.

It must have taken Arthur a long time. Moroccan style lanterns were hung from the ceiling. They cast a beautiful, colorful glow in the warehouse. Japanese water lilies were in a small pond. She had to cross a little red bridge to get over the pond and saw Koi Fish swimming around. She crossed over the ruins of a Tibetan temple and into a French Cafe. All of this, inside the disused warehouse. Arthur was standing by a candle lit table. He was dressed beautifully in a very fine suit. He looked so handsome then that it put the world he created for her to shame.  
>"I wanted to bring you little pieces of our home." He told her lightly indicating the lamps and the pond. "I was never sure what you liked best."<p>

"My God Arthur," She gasped, approaching him"This is beautiful. Why?" She almost regretted the question as the Point Man knelt down before her. She wanted to tell him no, to stand up. But he looked so handsome, he looked up at her with sincere eyes.

"Ariadne..." He stated, looking nervous. He took her hand gently in his, his other hand holding a large stoned ring. "Ariadne, I want you to be my wife."

She said nothing as she felt her self start to shake and tears begin to fall.

"Please to me this honor. Please be my home, forever." He asked.

She smiled at that. She found herself nodding.

"Yes." She said softly "Yes, of course I'll marry you." tears of joy were falling over her cheeks. He quickly slid the ring on her left ring finger and stood. For what seemed like a long time, they stood there in the dream. Holding each other. The beauty of a dream they didn't want to wake from.

***Hector, Price of Troy during Trojan War**


	35. Chapter 35

The Extraction

~ Ariadne looked at the engagement ring Arthur had given her. Once more in the waking world, the antique ring was stunningly beautiful. Arthur had explained it belonged to his great, great grandmother. Who had fled from Europe to New York during the Great War. It had a large, oval shaped, clear brown diamond at its heart and held the feel and weight of generations of his loved ones. It felt strange to have such a beautiful thing on her small hands. She kept feeling it was too big. Too noticeable. The gold around the diamond was heavy and detailed. Showing it's age but with a reserved beauty not found in modern jewelery.

"If you don't like it," Arthur said noticing her once more looking at it. "I can always get you a ring you do like."

"No!" She said shocked "I love it. I love that it belonged to all the brides of your family." She found herself trembling again. "I just... hope I can take care of it and keep it safe... for..." She blushed. She almost said, 'for our _son_ to give to _his_ bride' but thought better of it. The time right now was too perfect. She wouldn't allow herself to look too far into the future.

Arthur nodded and finished packing. They had been grinning stupidly at one another all morning. It took them far too long to pack.

~ The day of Edwards extraction had come. They would be leaving for Berlin in an hour. They had decided not to tell the Team of their engagement. They didn't want to divert attention away from the mission. But surely the Team would see the blushes. The smiles. Ariadne didn't want to take her ring off. It was exactly her style and she did as Arthur (her _fiancés_ ) suggested, and turned it around so only the gold band was visible. After so many decades of ware, the gold had lost a good deal of shine and might go unnoticed.

A brief meeting and revision of the plan before the Teams made their way to the airport. Only Saito stayed behind to be with Shin. They were quickly seated in coach, a section they had all to themselves as Saito had directed the plane to be empty except for Edwards and his Son and the two Teams.

A flight attendant told them Edwards and Hector were seated in first class and the plane was soon airborne. Once it leveled out, the Teams were in motion. Delilah quickly hooked up a canister to the ventilation system of the plane. The gas enveloped every vent except the cockpit. The Teams and solitary attendant stood behind the first class cabin in gas masks, waiting. After three minuets, the Teams advanced.

Edwards was an older man but still looked perfectly fit and healthy. Yori quickly took his vitals and that of Hector's (who would be left out of the dream).

"Were all good here." She told the them. Very quickly the Teams opened up the PASIV and took out ten IVs with white securing cuffs. They all seated themselves in the remaining seats, Arthur and Eames hefted Hector out and put him in a seat behind first class.

"Keep and eye on him, Little One." Eames told the Control, Sybil nodded. After they had all seated themselves and had white IV's trailing from there wrists, Cobb nodded to Sybil

"Good luck." The Control said pushing the button and sending them in.

~ It was a noisy market place. Full of bright colors. Confusing languages. Cobb had to admit, it would take a lot for projections to find them here. The Team quickly found Edwards. He was wandering the market place, looking at all the different stalls. It was easy for Eames and Braker to impersonate his sons Hector and Paris* and talk to him. Edwards was more likely to listen to them in the strange market of foreign tongues.

They talked politics, of Edwards running for public office. Fanning his vanity. For a few days, the team watched him. They sensed Edwards projections trying to find them. But the maze of the market was a good one. It moved organically and it's projections were at Ariadne's will. Edwards happily talked about politics with his sons. And soon enough, the subject had come around to dream extractions.  
>"There going to blow up the world." Braker said disguised as Paris. "These people have no laws to govern what they do. What's to stop them form getting the command codes for our nukes?"<p>

"I agree." Edwards said "Why we need to have the run of it."

"No, we need to get rid of it all together." Eames said disguised as Hector. Edwards laughed

"But then how would _we_ control things?" The old man asked

~ Back in the waking world, the Control and the Doctor were knelt in front of Ariadne. The Girl was holding the Architect's left hand and looking over the impressive ring.  
>"That is one <em>bitching<em> engagement ring." Sybil said moving the stone in and out of the light but never taking it off Ariadne's hand.  
>"She and Arthur didn't say anything." Yori said. "My God, look at it. Do you think it's real?"<p>

"Oh No." Sybil said mockingly "I think Arthur sprang for a _fake_ diamond." Yori cast Sybil a look as they continued to admire the fine stone.

~ Back on the first layer of the dream, they prepared to go in deeper.

"Remember," Arthur said to his Lady, "Let Roy take point. He was trained for this. If the projections find you, run away."

"No fear of Limbo." She told him. He smiled and gave her a quick kiss before Eames and Braker drugged Edwards and hooked him up to the PASIV.

~ The second layer was a maze of futuristic proportions. A city, complete with pollution and neon signs in foreign languages. Eames and Braker, Still as Hector and Paris respectively, told Edwards about these foreign competitors immigrating into America. Putting people out of work. Edwards seemed to be thinking heavily on this.

"They used those damn extractions to make money off the stock market." Braker said as Paris. "They bought us all out." He explained waving at the slums.

"We don't even own this country anymore." Eames added. A few weeks at this level, Edward's own projections of his sons soon feed the idea right back to him. Eames and Braker disguised themselves as everything from extractors on trial for insider trading, to foreign CEO's buying American companies. Proudly proclaiming they made their money off dream extractions.

Cobb, Arthur, Delilah and the Australians kept busy fending off the highly militarized projections. Arthur and the Australian Chemist stayed behind in the city as the others went deeper.

~ The third level was Edwards living in total poverty. A safe was built for Edwards to hide his secrets and valuables so Cobb and Delilah could steal them on this level. Delilah and Cobb stayed behind as Eames, Braker, the Australian Point Man and Extractor took him down further.

~ Back on the first level, Ariadne was running from the projections. The Maze was good, but not good enough. Roy had kept them both away from the projections but there was too much time on this level and they were running out of places to hide.

~ Fourth level had Edwards running for president, on the platform of outlawing extractions. He won in a landslide. Braker and the Australian Extractor stayed behind as Eames and the Australian Point Man took Edwards to the final level.

~ As president, Edwards had the respect and power he craved. Soon enough, Eames realized the Inception wouldn't take. Edwards was cocky. Confident that his use of dream extraction had given him inside information that won him the race.

~ Roy and Ariadne place headphones over Arthur's ears with the music that would start the kick. They had lined the Teams in chairs to be simultaneously "kicked" into the first level. Projections were closing in quickly. Roy told her to run as he fended them off. She went to a side door but was confronted by a mob of projections. It happened so fast, a gun went off. Pain in her abdomen.

She looked down at herself. Bright red blood was blooming out of her open wound. Ariadne placed her hand over it. Hot blood pouring over her beautiful ring. She saw black as she fell into Limbo.

~ On the fourth level, the projections turned on Braker and the Australian Extractor. Braker felt the kick but missed it. He looked up to see his Team mate a well as Edwards, Eames and the Australian Point Man had vanished. They had road the kick out without him. He felt the knife in his back and the projections beating him as he fell into Limbo.

~ It was a brief fight as the Team came out on the first level. Braker stayed on the floor. Eyes still closed in peaceful sleep. Arthur and the others quickly fought back the projections before he noticed Ariadne's body. It was a shock to see her dead on the ground. Blood over her. Her eyes opened.

"What happened?" he barked.

"Projections closed in." Roy shouted. Delilah and Cobb sedated Edwards.

"How did it go?" Cobb asked Eames.  
>"It didn't take." Eames said desperately.<p>

~ "Ariadne's in Limbo, get her out." Sybil said.

"So is Braker." Yori said. Sybil disconnected Ariadne from the device and looked at the PASIV.

"There all back on the first level. Lets wake them up." She said. Yori nodded as the Control pulled the emergency stop.

_ ~ In Limbo, there were children with beautiful faces. _

_ Their laughter was musical. _

_Ariadne was teaching them French. _

_Braker taught them to fish. _

_ They all lived together in a lovely little house in a forest. _

_ She and Braker were raising their children there._

_ These beautiful Children were theirs. _

_ This simple life was theirs. _

_It was peaceful, warm and happy. _

_She loved Braker in this place and Braker loved her. ~_

~ Then she was awake. Sybil was in front of her and that simple, beautiful life faded rapidly. Ariadne tried to hold onto it. Tried to keep it. She knew it was only a dream, but she wanted it back.

"Ariadne? Are you okay?" Sybil asked. Yori was by her side then. Taking her vitals. She turned around to look at the Teams. Arthur was seated across the aisle from her. She had forgotten all about him.

Ariadne turned to look at Braker. He looked agitated as Sybil tried to calm him. She kept saying things like "you out" but he was still breathing hard.

"Are you okay?" Arthur asked. Ariadne nodded.

"Delilah's formula worked. It felt just like a regular dream." She told him. Tears were running down her cheeks. "It's fading." She added. She concentrated then. She couldn't find the faces of her children in her mind. The Children she shared with Braker in Limbo.

***Paris, Prince of Troy who stole Helen away from her husband, causing the Trojan war. **


	36. Chapter 36

Retreat

~ "We failed." Eames said as Yori kept Edwards sedated. "Edwards thinks the Dream Extraction will make him more powerful."

"Get away." Braker said harshly to Sybil standing up and leaving the first class cabin.  
>"He was in Limbo." Sybil told the Australians. The Girl looked at Ariadne.<p>

"Did it work like Delilah said?" She asked. The Teams looked at the Architect. Ariadne nodded and told the truth.  
>"I... I dreamed. I remember the market. But Limbo... it feels like a regular... dream. I... I cant remember." She stammered.<p>

Arthur was by her side then. She looked into his eyes and she remembered him now. How could she have forgotten about Arthur? She suddenly remembered, she was going to marry _him_. She was going to be _his_ wife. Have _his_ children.

"I'm going to marry you." She whispered to him as tears brimmed treacherously. He nodded and smiled. He took out a cloth handkerchief and gently wiped away her tears.

"Yeah we know." Sybil said loudly. "We saw the ring."

~ The plane made an unexpected stop in Paris before going to Berlin to let the Team off. By their careful planning, Cobb took his Team back to the warehouse they used for the Fischer Inception. The Warehouse Arthur used for his dream proposal.

It felt strange to be back at the beginning of their journey only to re-group now in defeat. Eames gravely told them of Edwards failed Inception.

"We can try again." Sybil said.

"No." Eames told them "His subconscious will be prepared now. "It was always one shot."

"So what now?" the Control asked.  
>"We still have the information we extracted from the other levels." Cobb told them. "Edwards has holding in all sorts of companies. We can get this information to Saito. We can use it to brake him."<br>"Did Edwards have Yuseff killed?" Ariadne asked.

"Yes." Delilah said sadly. She looked at Cobb who nodded. "Edwards had files on all of us. Including myself and Yori." The Doctor was taken aback by this news. She quickly pulled out her cell phone and dialed Saito.

"Are you sure your alright?" Arthur asked Ariadne. She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. Trying to remember faces, trying to remember names. She looked up at him and nodded. She turned to Braker then who was staring at them darkly.  
>"I say we go back to the hotel outside the city." Cobb said gently. "We can think of our next move then."<p>

"Were going back home." The Australian Extractor told Cobb. Next flight out. "Sorry it didn't work out Mate, it was worth a shot."

~ The realization that Braker was leaving filled Ariadne with horror. She couldn't show it. She and Braker had made eye contact then and she ducked away from the group and retreated to the bathrooms. She washed her face and tried to calm down.

It seemed a long time that she hid there. She knew Braker was beside her suddenly and looked up.  
>"Your going with <em>him<em> aren't you? Your going to leave with Arthur." He said in a voice filled with hurt.

"Of course I am." She said harshly. Drying her face on a paper towel. "I'm going to _marry_ him. Why wouldn't I leave with him?"

"You don't remember anything about Limbo?" He asked.

"Just bits and pieces." She told him not wanting to meet his eyes.

"We were together." He told her

"It was just a dream." She whispered. "I don't remember all of it."  
>"We were together for years." He said sadly.<p>

"You remember?" She asked trying to keep her voice down.

"I think I may have become immune to Delilah's formula. In the same way extractors become immune to normal dreaming." He admitted. "I remember all of it." She shook her head.  
>"Well I don't." she hissed her face growing hot. "I don't remember their faces. I don't even remember their names." She turned her back on him then.<p>

"Tomas and Ava." Braker said. "Our _children_, were named Tomas and Ava."


	37. Chapter 37

A Simple Little Idea... That Changes Everything

**After the failed Inception of Edwards, the Team returns to Tokyo. Arthur and Ariadne are engaged, but the events of Limbo still linger in the Architect's mind.**

_**Cobb**- The Extractor_

_**Arthur**- The Point Man_

_**Ariadne**- The Architect_

_**Eames**- The Forger_

_**Saito**- The Business Man_

_**Yori**- The Doctor_

_**Sybil**- The Control, The Teenage Girl_

_**Delilah**- The Chemist_

_**Braker**- The Australian Forger_

_**Roy**- The Australian Architect_

_**James & Phillipa**- The Children_

_**Shin**- Saito & Yori's son_

_**Edwards**- The Mark_

_**Hector**- The Mark's oldest Son_

_**Paris**-The Mark's youngest Son_

_**Hagion**- The Sanctuary_

**Tokyo**

~ "The rain stopped." Sybil said. It was a clear morning as the Team stepped out of the airport. Ariadne felt a hand on her back and turned to see Arthur. Her pulse quickened and the nagging sense that she had done something wrong went off in her head.  
>"I'll bring the car around" He said gently in her ear. She smiled awkwardly and nodded. Eames strolled into a patch of sun light as the three of them waited for Arthur.<p>

"So I never got around to saying congratulations." The Forger said with a cocky smile.

"For what?" Ariadne asked surprised.  
>"You and Arthur... getting engaged?" Eames asked with a raised eye brow. Ariadne shook her head feeling stupid.<p>

"Oh yeah. Thank you." She said with a blush.

"It's been a crazy few days." Sybil admitted. "Were all a bit distracted."

"Cobb and Delilah will be back with the kids in the morning. " Eames said. "We can all have a nice dinner together." He turned to the Architect, Who was lost in thought. "Ariadne?" The Forger asked.

"Humm?" The Architect looked up, not listening.

"I was talking about dinner. Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yes, of course." She told them.

Eames and Sybil gave her a hard look as Arthur pulled up in the car.

~ Yori had taken a red eye back to Japan from France to be with Saito and their son. The Australians had left the day of Edwards failed inception. Cobb and Delilah had taken a flight back to the States to get his Children and bring them back to Japan. The past week had been very stressful. The Team was not accustomed to failure. It had not been anyone's fault. Each Team member had done their job perfectly. Eames had surmised that Edwards, being a self made man, was too difficult to manipulate.

Like Saito, Edwards was not one to be influenced. Eames and Cobb had thoughts about going after Hector.

"He's like a Prince." Eames told the Extractor that night over dinner. "He is in all the society pages. He is handsome and sociable. Nothing like his Father. He will be easy to influence."

"Were going to perform inception on Hector?" Sybil asked.

They were all back at Ariadne's apartment in Tokyo. Sybil, a more accomplished cook, had prepared the dinner.

"How will that help us?"

"Edwards listens to his oldest Son." Eames explained. "In the dream I had ample time to study their relationship. Edwards admires his oldest son Hector, and sees his youngest as a very flighty womanizer."

"Shame you didn't impersonate Paris." Arthur chimed in. Eames laughed.

"We can use the market, like before." Cobb said.

"No we can't." Ariadne told them. They all turned to the Architect.

She had barely spoken anything for several days. It was a surprise to hear any words from her not forced out. She shrugged.

"The projections found us. They shot me." She said simply.

"With the sedation, you were there for two weeks, Darling." Eames told her.

"The market worked very well." Delilah agreed brushing back her long dark hair.

"I still was in Limbo." Ariadne said her cheek flushing.

"So what?" Delilah asked. "It faded away like a normal dream." The Chemist looked at the Architect. "It did fade away, right?" Feeling many eyes on her, Ariadne told the truth.

"Yes, it did." She admitted.

She remember little more then green trees, a rustic white house, a lake, Braker and children who's faces she never saw. Braker, remembered everything. He remembered the lifetime they shared in Limbo. In the short few seconds it took Sybil to pull her and the Australian Forger out, they lived together. They had loved each other. The children, who's faces she could not remember, had been _their_ children. Children who vanished when Sybil pulled her out.

Waking up had been a shock, and the horror of having that life slip helplessly away was even worse. Seeing Arthur again broke her heart and filled her with guilt at forgetting about him. Guilt for dreaming of a life with another man. Even if she remembered almost none of it. Braker was now immune to Delilah's Compound that protected them from remembering Limbo. He had remembered all of it. Before leaving for Australia, He reminded her of their children's names. 'Tomas and Ava'. This information haunted her.

~ That night, Arthur and Ariadne were getting ready for bed. She was sketching her mazes again. It was her normal way of relaxing.  
>"Are you sure your alright?" He asked. She responded by reflex<p>

"I'm fine." She said casually. He shrugged.

"I only ask because you seem so distant. Distracted." he said climbing into bed next to her.

"It's been a stressful few days. A lot has happened." She explained.

"Well, it's over now. Maybe we should take a few days off. Just the two of us." He suggested. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead. She smiled at his familiar touch. She looked up into his kind eyes. The knowledge that he loved her filled her body up with a warm contented feeling.

"That will be nice." She said sadly. He leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

"What happened on the mission... wasn't your fault." He told her. "You did your job right. Everyone did. Some people, like Saito and Edwards, can't be controlled." He was brushing back her hair as he comforted her.

"I still got shot." She almost laughed.  
>"It killed me to see you there." Arthur admitted. "I finally can respect what Cobb went though, having to kill the projections of Mal."<p>

She nodded. Remembering the Extractor's struggle.

"What do you remember of Limbo?" He asked. She sighed.

"Light, trees, a lake. It was very peaceful." She said honestly. "When Sybil woke me up, it just slipped away. I couldn't hold onto it." She said. He smiled

"Sounds like Heaven." He said running a hand up her leg.

She nodded and tried to suppress a heated blush coming over her face. She knew where his hand was going, what he was wanting. "I'm glad Delilah's formula worked." He kissed her passionately. Ariadne found herself pushing the Point Man away, shaking her head.  
>"I'm sorry." she told him. He looked hurt and concerned. "I'm not ready... yet." She hugged her arms to her chest. "I'm sorry." She told him again. He rubbed her arm comfortingly.<br>"It's alright." He assured her. "When the time is right." He told her kissing her chastely on the forehead. She nodded.

Arthur turned off the lights and wrapped his Lady in his arms. Ariadne kept her back to his chest so he couldn't see her tears.


	38. Chapter 38

Children with no faces

~ It had been a few weeks since the Team had returned to Japan. Arthur and Ariadne had taken a trip to photograph the rural country side. It was good to be back with Point Man again. Alone and safe with him, she felt herself returning to normal and forgetting the dream she shared with Braker.

The continuous rain had stopped for a few days, the sun had come out. The world was fresh and new and clean. Ariadne worked in her dark room, developing the pictures she and Arthur took from their sailing trip. In the mornings, the Team all converged for breakfast at Ariadne's apartment. James and Phillipa were happy to be with their Father and back in Japan.

"So when is the wedding?" Sybil asked. She and the Architect were in an Americanized Mall, shopping. It felt good to return to a normal "girl" activity. Ariadne shrugged and smiled.

"We haven't had much of a chance to plan." She told the Girl. "We have plenty of time."

"You and Arthur are getting pretty old." Sybil told her. Ariadne laughed. "Are you going to have the wedding here or in France?"

"I don't know."

"Can I be in it?"

"Sure."

"Sweet." Sybil said with a fist pump. Ariadne pointed at some sensible clothes.  
>"Were here to pick out clothes for you to return to school in." She said.<br>"Yeah, you have boring taste in clothes. You lived in France for crying out loud. I should have brought Eames." Sybil said looking over the plain style the Architect held out for her. Ariadne gave the girl a disgusted look.

"Oh _Eames_ is good at picking out clothes for a 15 year old girl?" She asked.

"Yes." Sybil said as if the Architect had asked a truly stupid question.

"Well, then Eames can take you shopping." Ariadne told her. Sybil nodded.

"How long are we going to pretend that Limbo didn't affect you?" She asked. Ariadne looked up from a rack of simple blouses.

"What... what do you mean?" She asked tentatively.

"You know what I mean." Sybil asked. "Delilah's compound didn't work."

"The compound worked." Ariadne told the Girl.

Sybil waited patiently. Ariadne searched for her words. Not able to find a way to tell the Girl what had happened.

"The compound worked on me, but not Braker." She said softly. "He's immune to it now." Sybil was quite for a long time.

"My God." She breathed. The Girl was able to grasp the gravity of what happened. "All his work in extraction, plus the PASIV-4 frying his brain..." She started. Putting the pieces together.

"I think using the compound too much makes you immune to it. Like how we can't dream normal dreams if we keep doing the extractions." Ariadne explained.

"We have to tell Cobb... Delilah." Sybil said

"No, I can't." Ariadne said.

"Why not?" Sybil asked. The Girl was understanding as she meet the Architect's eyes.

"Braker and I were in Limbo... together. We... were there...We..." Ariadne tried to say. Comprehension dawned on the Girl.

"You don't remember, but Braker dose." Sybil said, finding the words.

~ Some time later, they were sitting on a quite bench in an idyllic Japanese park.

"When I was in Limbo," Sybil told the Architect "I was happy. It was never a bad place. That was reality."

Ariadne listened to the Girl. Sybil had understood. Her exposure to Limbo had been long and at a very young age.

"In Limbo, I created worlds and people, literally. It seemed natural. I was loved, it was like how I imagine Heaven would be. I grew up in Limbo, I had a husband and I had Children. I remember them so clearly. When Delilah pulled me out... I was sitting on my porch watching my Grandchildren play. I woke up _from_ a world where I was happy, _to_ a world where I was used and hated." Sybil finished looking at some swans on a small pond. "For a long time, it was hard to put it behind me. Even after I found my way to all of you, I still thought about... things." Sybil confided.

"What kind of things?" Ariadne whispered. Sybil sighed.

"I didn't want to live in this world anymore. This world is so harsh, and cold. I missed my husband, my family. I still feel like they are waiting for me. Waiting for me to come home. You can tell me it was a dream all day long, but..." Sybil's eyes suddenly looked very old. The Girl turned to the Architect. "You _swear_ you don't remember?" Ariadne nodded.

"I just remember our home, our children. Nothing detailed. I don't remember their names or their faces." The Architect said truthfully. "I feel so bad about it."

"Don't be." Sybil said. "You were lost down there."

"How could I have forgotten Arthur?" She asked feeling the worse sense of betrayal come over her.

"It was Limbo." Sybil said with a shrug. "Arthur can _never_ know."

Ariadne looked at the Girl. She didn't like hiding things from Arthur.

"I..." She started to say

"He was never in Limbo. He would _never_ understand." Sybil told her. "In the meantime, I think we need to see Yori, get your mind checked out. This is bothering you more then your letting on." Ariadne nodded.

~ Yori maintained a simple little office in a quite and older section of the city. The Doctor listened intently to Ariadne. After talking to Sybil, it was easier for her to find her words. She didn't mention anything about Braker or that he remembered everything. She never mentioned the Children With No Faces. Yori seemed sympathetic although confused as to what was really bothering the Architect. Sybil was no help as she leafed through Japanese fashion magazines.

"Well, we can do an MRI if you like. A brief toxicology. The compound Delilah gave you was safe. I tested it myself. It should be out of your system. We can test for any cascading effects on your mind." Ariadne nodded.

The Doctor was willing to believe there was a problem with no proof.

"We should alert the Australians, Braker was in Limbo to." Yori added picking up her phone.

"No!" Ariadne almost shouted. Sybil raised her head and gave the Architect a bizarre look.

"Braker was fine." Sybil told the Doctor. "He was trained for this."

This simple explanation seemed enough for Yori. Her technicians drew blood and vitals. After several hours, Yori finally came back into the little exam room.  
>"I'm sorry Ariadne, we can't do an MRI." Yori told them<p>

"Why not?" The Architect asked feeling worried.

~ A privet driver took the three women back to the Team's apartment building. It had started to rain again, the city becoming blinded by the downpour.

"To be honest," Sybil said still looking at the magazine she had stolen from the office. "I'm surprised your _just now_ knocked up." She laughed. "I mean, you were on that stupid boat for like what, a year? It's not like there was anything else to... you know... _do_. You guys didn't even have a T.V." Ariadne tired to ignore the Girls crude comments.

"Are you sure the compounds won't hurt..." She started to asked Yori. Unable to ask if the Edwards extraction might have harmed the new life inside her.  
>"The sonogram showed a perfect six week old fetus. The PASIV affects a selective part of the brain. It has almost no effect other then sedation. It's been tested on pregnant women before and the babies were always fine." The Doctor Smiled and took Ariadne's hand "That's probably why you were so worried. Your body just <em>sensed<em> the pregnancy."

"Oh my God." Sybil laughed suddenly and cast a catty eye at the Architect. "You are going to be so _fat_ for your wedding." In a way, Ariadne was almost grateful.

Sybil's behavior cast an air of normalcy. No traces at all of the serious conversations they had shared only a few hours ago. It let her know that Sybil would keep her secret. That Sybil would protect her.

"Congratulations." Yori told her, ignoring the Girl. "This is a real blessing."

~ "That was a long shopping trip." Arthur said. "Want to order in?" Ariadne had come home to find the Point Man working on the PASIV device. Their normally neat dinning table was a mess.

"That sounds nice." she said with a genuine smile.

When she saw him, a feeling of comfort surrounded her. For a moment, she forgot the curse of Limbo, the extractions, Edwards and even Braker. She smiled to herself.

"Where's Sybil?" Arthur asked looking up from his work.  
>"She and Eames are at his place, watching that stupid game show." Ariadne told him sitting next to him. He gave her a warm look and smiled.<p>

"Did you have a nice day out?" He asked. She nodded.

"Yes." She said.

She had never been afraid of speaking her mind before. It was suddenly hard. Arthur had no idea that their lives were changing. She held onto this secret for a delicious few seconds before she had to tell him.

"Arthur..." He looked up from his work. Ready to listen to her. She couldn't stop now. "Umm. Were pregnant." She finished simply. He blinked.

"Are you sure?" He asked his eye dropping to her abdomen as if he could see evidence already. She nodded and smiled.

"Yori confirmed it today. I know, I know this is not the right time. With everything going on." She fumbled.

She suddenly felt tears coming down. She wasn't sad exactly. Just an emotional reaction to the day that had been so filled with complications. His hand was at the back of her head as he kissed her. His warm lips on her mouth. His kiss, gentle but firm. He pulled away with a smile.

"No, it's wonderful." He said. "It's perfect. I always told you my home was with you. Your going to make us a family." He kissed her once more on the forehead and lips. He stood up then, bringing her with him. His long arms pulled her body close to his in a secure embrace as his hand moved to her belly. He held her there, as if owning that part of her.

"When do think it happened?" He asked softly

"Counting backwards? I think it was in New York." She told him. "Our first night there." Arthur nodded.

"That night you took advantage of me?" He reminded her.

"I did _not_ take advantage of you." She said in mock anger. She couldn't help but blush at the memory.

"I was ready to go to sleep and you had your way with me." He teased.

"I didn't do anything to you." She said justifiably. He laughed.

"Sure you didn't." He said. She giggled as Arthur maneuvered his hand under her shirt to feel the bare skin of her abdomen.

"I love you." He whispered. "Thank you." She wanted to say 'for what?' But didn't. Arthur had been an orphan in the world. No family and only a few friends. He was grateful to have her anchor him. To give him a home that was her love and now a child from that love.


	39. Chapter 39

The Good News

"_Families with babies and family without babies are sorry for one another."  
>Edgar Watson Howe<em>

~ Ariadne was not expecting Arthur to bring the Team into their apartment just then. She expected him to make love to her all night, per there normal routine, before the last extraction. But he was quick to leave and bang on their doors. Saito and Yori had been having dinner with Cobb and the Children and soon enough they were all together.

Sybil and Yori pretending to be ignorant as Arthur proudly announced the news. Eames and Cobb patted their friend on the back in congratulations. It made Sybil laugh and comment how Ariadne would be the one actually _having_ the baby.

"It's about bloody time." Eames said. "I have to say, I thought it would _never_ happen. I was half expecting to see you with a little one after being on that boat of yours for a year."

"That's what I was saying." Sybil said looking up.

The Forger and the Girl nodded at each other, sensing that 'great minds' think alike.

It was a wonderful evening. Cobb telling stories of when James and Phillipa were born, when they were babies. Delilah sat by the Extractor's side. Her fingers laced in his. Not able to share the memories of his life with Mal, but still respecting them. James cared nothing about the news and contented himself coloring with Ariadne's water colors. Phillipa, now a young lady of 9, was curious about the new edition to her 'family' She wanted to know if she could help.

"I help with Shin all the time." she assured Ariadne.  
>"Of course you can." The Architect laughed.<p>

She was leaning back on Arthur's chest. His arms wrapped protectively around her. A wonderful wave of contentment passing over her. A family, not close friends like she enjoyed now. She and Arthur were going to be a family. It was something they both wanted. The idea that a new person would be here this time next year, still had not hit her. Just the idea of a life inside her, was too remarkable for her to think beyond it.

"So, do you fancy a boy or girl?" Eames asked.

"Healthy." The Point Man told the Forger sternly.

"I think you should have a girl." Phillipa told them. "Keep things even."

"Well, we cant argue with that logic." Eames said with a wicked grin. "Any thought to names?" Arthur nodded.

"I was thinking Audrey if its a girl, after my mother. If it's a boy, Tomas, after Ariadne's grandfather." he said.

_It clanged in her head. _

_Like a heavy bell ringing. _

_'Tomas and Ava' Braker had said 'Our Children, were named Tomas and Ava' _

"No." she said stiffly. "Not Tomas." She said trying to sit away from Arthur. He looked at her oddly.

"I thought it would be nice to name him after your Grandfather, you two were so close." Arthur said apologetically.

"No." Ariadne said not offering an explanation. The Team looked at her then. Eames, ever the comic relief, chuckled.

"You can always name him after me." He said

"Eames, their looking for names if it's a _boy_." Sybil said not missing a beat.

~ Later that night, after their guests had left Arthur couldn't keep his hands to himself.

"It's been a long day." She breathed happily as the Point Man stood behind her. His hands exploring the body he already knew so well. "Are you sure you wouldn't just rather go to bed?"

"We can go to bed." He said huskily as he kissed her neck. His hands under her blouse, one hand on her stomach, the other releasing her bra. She giggled.

"I mean, to _sleep_." She said leaning back, losing herself in his touch.

"We can sleep after." He assured her in a whispered breath, one hand freeing her breasts of their lacy enclosure. His other hand pressing, possessively, on her belly. Wanting to keep a protective hold on their soon-to-be child.

He plucked and angered her nipples until she found herself breathing rapidly. Her own hands over his, encouraging him. He moved his strong fingers down her body then, unzipping her pants. His fingers snaking down her panties. Ariadne felt her knees wobble in anticipation. She didn't know how long she could stay standing.

She gasped at the intrusion of his hand on such a secret area. Of foreign skin on her most privet place. She was embarrassed by the heat and wetness her lover found there. His hand moving and grinding on her. Almost lifting her off the floor with each slow careful movement.

"Arthur!" he gasped, feeling his hot breath and lips raking over her neck.

"Your ready." He growled authoritatively. She nodded as he released her and turned her around to face him.

She was topless very quickly, he had become highly skilled at removing her simple clothes. His hands returning between her legs, never allowing her a moment to cool down. Now facing him and with free hands, she tried to ignore his mouth on her exposed breasts. His hot breath and lips on her nipples making her head spin.

She desperately attempted to shed him of his clothing, his tie, vest and button up shirt. His assault of her body gave him unfair advantage over her. She had barely started to climax on him when he pulled away.

"Please." She gasped feeling the flush on her face.

He smiled wickedly as he completed the removal of his own clothes. She was so close, wild with hormonal want, as he laid her down and drove himself into her. Her hips wiggled around him forcing his movements to speed up. Causing uncontrollable friction at that would force her over the edge.

She meet each thrust of his hips as she felt her world fall away in explosions. His warm kisses caressing her lips and body. Relaxing her as she started to calm down. He came soon after, his life force releasing itself into her. Joining the tiny life they had already created.


	40. Chapter 40

A Snowfall Kinda Girl

"_I want a snowfall kind of love  
>The kind of love that quiets the world<br>I want a snowfall kind of love  
>Cause I'm a snowfall kind of girl"<em>

_Snowfall_

_Ingrid Michaelson_

~ It seemed suspicious. Eames had said that he was taking Sybil to school and Cobb and the rest of the Team had an early meeting. One that Cobb had said she didn't need to attend. At first she felt hurt, but had followed Yori's suggestion of doing some shopping for the nursery. She was far too early in her pregnancy to really think about buying anything for the baby, but it did cheer her up to look at all of the furniture, and clothes.

Sybil had decided to move into the guest room of the Forger's apartment for the rest of her summer brake. The two of them thought a lot alike. He was more like a big brother to her, always keeping her out of trouble and they got along well. It was an arrangement that suited them and gave Arthur and Ariadne their space.

Ariadne was not the kind of girl who shopped a lot, but buying for the baby felt different. She chalked it up to 'nesting'. She was happily looking over fashionable layettes when her cell phone rang. She felt embarrassed to brake the soft tone of the store, all the women were looking at her. She quickly answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Ariadne." came Braker's deep rugged voice.

"Braker." She gasped in surprise. She looked around the little shop in fear that someone would hear her and see her as the adulterous woman she felt she was. "What... what do you want?" she asked stepping outside.

"I've missed you." He said sadly. "How... how are you?" His voice was sincere and almost bashful.

"I'm... I'm fine." She stammered. "Braker, Arthur and I are getting married. Were going to have a baby." She said desperately. Silence echoed back over the line.  
>"You..." He started. He cleared his throat. "You don't have to marry him, just because he got you pregnant." He told her. "Come down to Australia. We can talk about this."<p>

"No. I'm marring him because I _love_ him, Braker." She said feeling angry. Heat rushing to her face as she suddenly felt like a stupid girl who had gotten into trouble with her boyfriend. Who now _had_ to get married just to make it all okay.

"I can come to Tokyo. I just need to see you." He told her. His voice picking up.  
>"No!" She almost shouted. "Just... just stay away."<p>

"Ariadne... I love-" Braker started to say before she clicked off her phone.

~ Back in her apartment Ariadne was confronted by her Team all seated at her dinning room table. The PASIV device was on the table before them, and all seven of them were asleep and dreaming. There was a note on the table next to Arthur. It had her name written in his careful old fashioned script.

"_See You Inside"_

~ Inside the dream, it was snowing. But it wasn't at all cold. Saito was waiting for her outside an abandoned Japanese temple. She could see that people were inside by the candle light coming from the broken windows. The business man smiled at her warmly. He looked very handsome in a long black dress coat that showed rich details of his homeland.

"I was hoping, you might allow me to give you away." Saito said offering her his arm.

Ariadne wasn't sure what he was talking about until he indicated the delicate white wedding dress she found herself adorned in. She gasped at it's beauty. It fit her perfectly. A light touch of lace at the sleeves, but a very simple dress that fell past her toes. She looked at Saito in amazement.

"Please, don't be angry." He said with a smile. "Arthur didn't want to wait any longer." She blushed and took his arm. The doors fell open to reveal a warm room with exquisite wood paneling and candle light. A place that could never exist in the real world because there was no roof on the temple. Snow was falling heavily on her and Saito as he walked her confidently down a long aisle. The snow was not cold and fell lavishly on the floor casting more light upwards. She couldn't help but smile in delight as she saw the Team waiting for them at the alter.

Sybil was dressed in a gown that matched her own, only a pale gold. For once, the Teenage Girl had nothing odd or colorful about her hair. She looked perfectly normal and lovely.

Delilah was standing behind Sybil. Both of them smiling. Cobb was standing on the groom's side, looking very dapper and handsome in a suit that complimented him perfectly. Eames was behind Cobb, also dressed finely (for once) and he smiled and gave her the thumbs up. She put a hand over her mouth to stop a laugh.

Then she saw her groom. She knew this man would be waiting for her, at the end of this walk, but she was not prepared for how handsome he looked. He wore a suit, as always, but it looked so much richer on him. Fitted him so much more perfectly. His hair lacked the slicked back look he almost always favored and he looked kinder, happier. The snow was falling over all of them as Arthur held out a hand to her. Ariadne looked to Saito who patted the hand she had wrapped around his arm. He smiled and nodded. She took Arthur's hand and let him lead her up to the alter.

"Don't be mad." He whispered. "It didn't want to wait another minute to be your husband." She smiled and kissed him. He met her lips happily. Their eyes closed and ignoring the chuckling from their friends.

"Were not at that part yet." Came Yori's voice. Arthur broke away from his bride and she blushed further still.

"You look _beautiful_." He whispered. She smiled. A smile so wide on her face she was sure her face would hurt soon. She tried to remember to breath as Yori began the ceremony.

"Friends, we have all gathered here today to join Arthur and Ariadne in marriage."

Yori's speech was simple and elegant. It had ties to many cultures. Cultures who valued love of a husband and wife above all else. Ariadne accepted Arthur as her husband as the snow fell on them. He placed a thin gold band on her left hand that was obscured by the wonderful engagement ring already there. She listened and tried not to cry tears of joy as Arthur promised to love her, cherish her, keep himself only for her, for all his days. He met her eyes, unblinking as he made this sacred promise and she knew that he meant it.

He meant it with all his heart.

"_Now_, you may kiss your bride." Yori whispered to them. Their friends applauded as they kissed. Ariadne standing on her toes to meet his tall frame. Arthur holding her wife, and his soon to be family, in his arms not willing to let them go. The snow was in no danger of burying them as it only cast a light carpet across the temple. The candle lights reflecting off it's white surface, brightening the dream the couple never wanted to awaken from.


	41. Chapter 41

What is the Most Resilient Parasite?

~ Married life was just like the life they had lead before. Ariadne started to experience mild morning sickness that lasted all day. It was on such an occasion of being too sick to attend the morning meetings that Cobb and Arthur decided to bring the Australian Team back in. Without consulting Ariadne.

"Are you feeling better?" Delilah asked sympathetically of her that evening. As the Team's habit, they were gathering at the couple's apartment. Ariadne nodded and tried to fix her hair.

"Still not feeling great." The Architect told the Chemist going into the kitchen.

"Well, you look wonderful." Delilah told her honestly. "Your skin looks fantastic." Ariadne huffed.

Delilah laughed. She was doing the cooking tonight as they awaited the rest of the Team. Cobb, Arthur, Eames, Saito and Sybil were still at the office building and would be home soon.

No one had the chance to tell the Architect that the Australians were joining them for dinner that night.

Delilah looked Ariadne up and down, she was wearing a simple white eyelet dress that she was starting to fill out.

"Well, at least the pregnancy is doing wonders for your bust line." Delilah teased. Ariadne laughed.

"I know. Better late then never." She admitted looking down. "Hope I get to keep them after the Baby's born."

"I keep forgetting to tell you Cobb had called in the-" Delilah said but was interrupted my a knock on the door. Ariadne opened it and almost fainted.

Braker and his Team were there.

"Hello Ariadne." Braker said softly. It was not his normal cat call of 'Beautiful' or 'Gorgeous' yet it was somehow more intimate. He _never_ called her by her given name.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him wide eyed and ignoring the rest of the Australian Team.

"We were invited, Love." Roy said with a wide smile. "Cobb and Arthur are planing our next move for Hector. Hey, we hear congrats are in order." The Australian Architect said handing her a bottle of champagne. "Don't worry, it's non-alcoholic."

Ariadne didn't respond to Roy at all. She didn't take the champagne or acknowledge him. She and Braker stood in the doorway as if they were the only people in the world.

"Umm... come on in guys." Delilah said feeling the awkwardness of the moment and trying to tactfully break it. The Chemist took the champagne from Roy and Ariadne stepped aside letting their friends in. Braker was somehow the last to make it inside.

"You look beautiful." He whispered kissing her on the cheek as soon as the others had their backs turned. Ariadne blushed angrily and moved away from him.

"Cobb and the boys will be back soon. Yori is going to stay with the kids tonight." Delilah said putting the champagne to chill. I hope you guys like authentic Japanese cooking. Ariadne and I have been taking a class."

The Australians nodded and laughed.  
>"It's the only thing that doesn't give our girl morning sickness." Delilah said playfully giving Ariadne a wink. "Thank God were in Japan."<p>

"Oh we Men, we Merry Men, will eat anything beautiful girls feed us." the Australian Chemist said with a grin.

"We heard about the wedding." Braker said softly to Ariadne but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Oh yeah." Ariadne said to the group, trying to act normal. "It was just a spur of the moment kind of thing. Otherwise, you know we would have wanted you all there."

"We know that, Love." The Australian Extractor told her. "We happy for the lot of you."

Ariadne smiled at him.

"Well, they will be home soon." She said to the group but meaning Braker. "My _husband_ will be home soon."

"You picked out names yet?" Roy asked helping himself to the party mix on the table.  
>"Um not really." Ariadne started trying to think. It popped into her head:<p>

_'Tomas and Ava, our children's name's were Tomas and Ava'_

She shook her head as if to free herself of the thought. "Um... we were thinking Audrey or Eames if it's a girl." The Architect said brightly.

"What about Tomas for a boy?" Braker asked "After your Grandfather?"

"No." Ariadne said lightly. Trying to ignore him.

"He raised you after your parents died, in the fire. Took you sailing. Taught you math." Braker told her.

She had never told Braker the details of her parents tragic death (or so she remembered). Arthur was the only one in her life who knew about it. She had never told _anyone_ of the math lessons her Grandfather gave her. How proficient they both had been in the subject. She had always been so good at math in memory of him.

What else did she tell Braker in Limbo? What else he know about her?

"I would _never_ have a child named Tomas." She told the group. Braker started to say something but the Architect excused herself and retreated to the bathroom.

She washed her face, allowing the warm water to open her pours and clean off the sweat she found herself broke into.  
>"I meant what I said earlier." Braker said. She jumped. The Australian Forger has silently stole into the bathroom after her. "You <em>do<em> look beautiful."

"What are you doing here?" She breathed feeling frightened. "I told you to stay away." He leaned against the counter top, looking at her. Ariadne felt her breath was coming too quick. Like she might hyperventilate. He was blocking the door, the only way out. There was no escape.

"I can't do that." He said finally. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an old watch. Cracked and broken. He saw her eyes on it.  
>"My totem." He explained. "My mother gave it to my father when they were first married. In the dream, it works perfectly." He placed the watch next to the sink. "Lately, its been telling me things." He said looking confused. "Things that can't be true." He shook his head. "Things I know are not true."<p>

"My _husband_... will be home soon." She said. Her voice nothing more then a frightened whisper.

"I'm not mad at you, for marring Arthur. We can move past this." He said, a kind look in his eye.  
>"No." Ariadne anger running in her veins<p>

"I know you felt you _had_ to marry him." Braker told her. His strong body suddenly advancing on her, putting a hand on her stomach.

"Don't!" She cried pitilessly. Trying to move away from him.

Trapped in the small bathroom. His body was tall and strong, one that she couldn't defend herself against. His hands were on her, trying to be lovers hands. Hands that she only half remembered.

"Ariadne," He breathed "I forgive you. I forgive you for Arthur, I really do. We can go home now."

"_Stop it_!" She cried out.

She didn't see it happen at first. Arthur's strong, capable arms wrapped around Braker's neck and the Australian Forger was off her and on the floor.

The Point Man's lean frame quickly put a barrier between the Australian Forger and the Architect. Ariadne wiped away the tears that had cascaded on her face as she tried to hide behind her husband.

"What are you doing?" Arthur said coldly to Braker. The Point Man's face was dark and contorted. She had only seen that look in him a few times before, always when things had gone terribly wrong.

The Australian Forger chuckled softly to himself as he stood up.

Ariadne heard heavy breathing, at first she thought it was herself, but she soon realized it was Arthur. The Point Man was completely focused on Braker. She knew then, there would be violence.

"I'm giving her the chance to come home, with me." Braker said honestly. His rugged handsome face confident as he stared back at the couple.

"I'm not going anywhere with you! I told you to leave me alone!" Ariadne cried. She hated it when she cried, and she was crying now. She saw Cobb and Eames coming into the bedroom looking confused.  
>"Arthur? What going on?" Cobb asked.<p>

"Ariadne-" Braker said gently

"Leave." Arthur told him curtly. "Now." Ariadne found her fingers were tightly clutching the back of Arthur's shirt. Wanting to keep him as close to her as possible.

Braker laughed.

"I'm not going anywhere without my wife, Mate." The Australian Forger said.

It was like Braker welcomed Arthur's attack. The Point Man was on him very quickly and they were on the floor. Ariadne heard screams and she vaguely thought it might have been herself. Cobb and Eames were shouting. Arthur was hitting Braker. Braker was hitting Arthur. There were shouts of confusion. Arthur was advancing on Braker. Ariadne sank to the floor trembling as Sybil came to get her.

"What happened?" She asked over the sounds of shouting and fighting. The Girl helped her to her feet as they went out into the living room to see the two men still fighting. The Australians were involved now. Cobb and Eames were trying to hold Arthur back as The Australians had their arms on Braker. Arthur's face was distorted in anger.

"You come here as a friend, and you try to rape my wife?" The Point Man shouted almost pulling Cobb to the floor as he tried to attack Braker again.

"I never _needed_ to rape her." Brake laughed. This only angered the Point Man even more.

"Stop!" Ariadne shouted. The tone of her voice caused everyone to turn and look at the petite Architect. She took a few deep breaths. She had to tell the truth now. Arthur would think she had an affair with Braker, when that wasn't true. Could never be true.

"When..." She started. "When were were in Limbo... We were there for a long time. Delilah's formula worked on me. I don't remember anything. But Braker did. He remembered... that... that we have lived together... in Limbo."

Both Teams were staring at her now. In confused disbelief. She had to continue. "He remembered that... we were together. That... we had children together... that we ..." She ran out of words then and looked helplessly at Arthur.

She regretted her decision to tell the truth when she saw the look on his face. A look of hurt and disbelief.

"We tested it." Delilah said "We tested it a lot."

"I think Braker became immune to the compound." Ariadne almost whispered.

"You lived a lifetime in Limbo." Cobb said in understanding. He had done the same with Mal. Her return from Limbo had driven her insane. Ariadne nodded. She looked at the Point Man.

"Arthur, I swear I don't _remember _it." She pleaded. His face had turned stoney as she pleaded with him. The Point Man shrugged off Cobb and Eames as he regained some composure.

"_Never_ come back." He told Braker. "I don't know or care what you dreamed about with my wife, but that's over." He finished solemnly.

Braker only laughed.

"Not you call, Mate." He spat blood on the floor. The Australian Forger looked at the Architect. Ariadne squared her shoulders and said evenly.

"I told you before, I want you to leave."

The Australians were around Braker then. Talking quietly, saying it was time to go. Being the friends they were to him. He never took his eyes off Ariadne as he let them walk him to the door. Finally, Braker turned around and smiled.

"In a few months, be sure to put a pillow between your knees. It will help with you back. It always did before." Arthur flew at him then, as Eames and Cobb were nearly taken off the ground to try and hold him off. As the Australians finally left, Saito locked the door behind them. Ariadne looked down to see Sybil holding her hand.

"It's Okay." The Girl whispered to her. Arthur jerked his arms away from Cobb and Eames. He turned to look at his wife and she was suddenly afraid.

"You need to tell us everything." Cobb said gently. The Extractor took the Architect free hand and guided her to sit on the sofa.

~ Ariadne nodded and told them everything. The Limbo only she remembered. The Children with no faces. That Delilah's formula worked on her but not on Braker.

"Braker's exposure to the PASIV-4, his long term dream extractions." Delilah said sadly "Our testing. It's not unreasonable to think that he became immune." Ariadne nodded.

"You knew this would happen, didn't you?" Sybil accused.

"Sybil..." Cobb sighed. The Girl still not trusting the Chemist.

"We tested it. This was in the works for years. No adverse reactions." Delilah said defensively.

"Is it the same compound you tested on me?" Sybil charged.

"Sybil." Eames was saying pulling the Girl away from the group then. Saito and Delilah had also followed them out. Giving Cobb, Arthur and Ariadne some privacy.

~ "I had forgotten so much. Just trees, light, and... it wasn't until he told me their names." The Architect said sadly. "It wasn't until he told me the names of our Children in Limbo that it really started to effect me."

"He planted the idea in your mind." Cobb said gravely. The Extractor didn't look at his hands as Ariadne saw his mind working.

She had never told anyone what happened down in Limbo on the Fischer Inception. Not even Arthur. She kept Cobb's horrible secret of poisoning Mal's mind. He had poisoned his wife's mind and inadvertently caused her suicide. He had given her a simple little idea... that changed everything.


	42. Chapter 42

Limbo

~ "You should have told us." Arthur said. He had remained silent as Ariadne explained to the Team more details about Braker's reminding her of Limbo.

"I didn't know how." Ariadne said.

"As soon as you knew something was wrong, you should have said something. You know that. How many times have I told you?_ Tell us _when something goes wrong in the dream. What if we had gone under again?"He said sharply.

Ariadne stepped back. This man was not her husband. Her husband _never_ talked to her like this. These were the words of the Point Man speaking. Chastising her as if she were Cobb or Eames.

"Arthur... I talked about it with Sybil last month, she said you would never understand, you were never in _Limbo_. " She tried to explain. But her reasoning sounded flawed.

"So you talked about this with _Sybil_, but not to me?" He didn't sound hurt or sad. Just angry.

She wanted to tell Arthur about Sybil. The Girl's time in Limbo. She wanted to explain about Cobb and Mal. But she didn't. Something told her that these was not her secrets to tell. Arthur gave her an hard look.

The Point Man turned and left their home.

~ Arthur was sitting outside. He hadn't smoked in almost ten years and suddenly felt the urge. After learning the details about Braker, he had taken a long walk in the city. The city he hated. He had returned to the building, but didn't want to face his wife. Cobb had been waiting up for him and the two of them said nothing as Cobb made up the couch for him to sleep on. The Extractor had told him that Delilah had stayed with Ariadne. Arthur only nodded.

He sat peacefully smoking on the outside balcony and thinking.  
>"I thought you gave that up." Cobb said coming out. Arthur nodded and gave a half smile.<p>

"You should see what their charging for a pack at the international store." The Point Man said wryly.

"How you feeling?" The Extractor asked.

"Well..." Arthur said taking a drag. "I think I remembered why I gave theses up. I feel like I might throw up."

Cobb nodded. The Extractor let the silence spin out between them. He didn't want to tell Arthur to not be mad at Ariadne.

"Remember a few years ago, when you asked me _who_ I had done inception on? How I knew it would work?" Cobb asked. Arthur nodded.

"I did it to Mal." Cobb confessed. "We were lost in Limbo. We had been living in the dream space for... _decades_. I cant even be sure how long. We had to get back. _I _had to get us back. I put this idea in her mind. I convinced her that this world, we were trapped in, was not real. It was that idea that caused her to question the real world... and her suicide... was _my_ fault." Arthur looked at Cobb "I was trying to save her... I betrayed her." Cobb finished.

Arthur had never known what Cobb and Ariadne had seen or done in Limbo. Nether one of them were willing to explain. They respected the secret.

"Arthur, Ariadne was lost down there. You can't hold it against her." Cobb told the Point Man.

"She should have told us." Arthur retorted. "She shouldn't have kept this to herself." Arthur let out a sigh. "I just don't know how to feel about this." He finished.

"Your going to have forgive her. Who knows how long she was down there?" Cobb said with a scowl.

"Limbo became her reality. She didn't remember it, and now, Braker has created new demons. By telling her the names of the Children they dreamed about... he performed his own inception." Arthur nodded. He understood what Cobb was saying.

"Don't think about elephants." The Point Man said flicking his cigarette off the high rise.

~ Ariadne was staring at Baker's broken watch. It remained where he had left it, on the bathroom counter top. She didn't want to touch it. It felt contaminated somehow. She opened a drawer directly below it and, placing a towel over the watch, she slid it off the counter and into the seldom used drawer.

Delilah had offered to stay with her but the Architect had wanted to be alone. The apartment seemed strangely empty and lonely. She was used to having someone, Arthur, the rest of the Team or Sybil, there almost all the time. It felt odd to be alone. She was suddenly seized with an irrational thought.

'I should just leave.' It seemed such a tempting idea, she found that she had wondered to her closet. The idea of staying here with Arthur was intolerable. She suddenly didn't care if she ever saw him again. The past two years of her life had been totally devoted to the Team. The life she once had was gone. She could go back to school. Go back to her old life. She had given away that life so freely in those early days and now, she suddenly wanted it back.

She took out the worn leather bag she always kept packed, a habit of the entire Team, and a started to pack an additional suitcase.

Her sailing yacht "The Minotaur" was still docked in the harbor. She could go away on that. Out at sea, no one could find her if she didn't want them to. Not Braker, or even Arthur. She could sail around the coast for a few months and... she felt a fluttering in her abdomen. The quick little movement stopped her dead, her heart was racing. She had completely forgotten. How could she have forgotten? The life inside her fluttered again making her laugh involuntarily and she lightly pressed a hand to her belly. She stood there, with one bag packed and one left open, waiting for the next movement.

"What are you doing?" Arthur's voice came. Ariadne torn her thoughts away from feeling her baby move for the first time, and saw her husband standing their bedroom.

"Leaving." She told him honestly. Arthur nodded. His face a deep scowl.

"You don't have to." He told her sadly.

"I _want_ to." She told him stubbornly returning to her closet.

"Where are you going to go?" He asked. He didn't think his wife would actually leave, but Ariadne was not like other flighty women. She had always been very brave and independent.

"Not sure yet." She told him.

"Are you going to fly?" He asked her

"No, I'm going on the ship." She told him. He sighed.

"Ariadne, your pregnant." He told her

"I know that." She said casting him a dirty look. He took a deep breath as he watched her continue packing.

"Look, I'm sorry I lost my temper today." He watched in horror as she ignored him and went into the bathroom to get her toothbrush and other sundries. "Please stop packing." He asked suddenly feeling that this was serious.

She was filled with a rush of adrenaline now. She _had to _leave. Too much had happened here. Too much had happened in the last few years.

She wanted to go back to her little apartment in Paris again. She wanted to see Miles. She wanted to talk to her Grandfather. She wanted to be a little girl, safe in his care. She wished she had never met Dom Cobb or gone into the dreams. She could be working as a real architect, perhaps with a legal husband and not having to worry about being killed. She wiped away painful tears and cleared her throat.

"I'll call you when I get there." She said throwing the last of her necessities into her open bag. She hefted her bags over her shoulder and made for the door. She had just gotten to the front door open and was in the hallway when Arthur was behind her.

"No, your not." Arthur said catching her arm in a strong but gentle grip. She turned and slapped him. She wasn't sure what had come over her. Her body was suddenly rocked with emotion like it never had been before. He took the blow as if it were nothing and turned back to her. "Ariadne, please your pregnant. I don't want you to hurt the child by getting so upset."

"I'm _not_ upset!" She cried hot tears falling down her face. She could feel an ugly crying jag coming on. A door in the hall opened and Cobb had come out of his apartment. The Extractor stopped when he saw the couple.

"Is everything alright?" He asked.

Ariadne crossed her arms over her chest, breathing heavily. Arthur nodded to his friend.

"Please come back inside." The Point Man said softly to his wife, trying to take her hand. She jerked back from him.  
>"No!" She said loudly.<p>

"Ariadne, where are you going?" Cobb asked rationally. She shook her head as she shifted her heavy bags and didn't look at Arthur.

"I'm leaving." She told the Extractor.

"Now?" Cobb asked. "It's three in the morning." He kept his voice reasonable. "Lets wait till morning to make any decisions." She shook her head.

"No." She said stubbornly. The men remained silent as they waited for her. The feeling of being trapped was suffocating. "I don't want to _do_ this anymore." She said to the both of them. She turned around and headed for the elevator when Arthur took hold of her again.

"No." He said calmly. "I cant let you leave."  
>"I don't want to be with you!" She said shouted hotly. Her mind a furry over the stress of the past few hours. Arthur looked hurt now. He nodded, his face stoney.<p>

"That's fine." He said. "But your carrying my child, I cant just let you wander the streets of Tokyo at three in the morning. I can't let you go sailing alone on the open sea." Arthur looked at her intently in the face as she tried to not meet him in the eye. She felt the fight go out of her. Her strength waning away.

He slowly took her bag off her shoulder, as she felt the fluttering in her womb again. She was shaking as Arthur took her small hand.

"I'm sorry." he said softly. "I'm sorry... for everything. We can go anywhere you want, I don't care, please don't leave." She allowed him to lead her back into their apartment. Arthur nodded at Cobb as he closed the front door. She allowed the Point Man to undress her gently and put her night clothes on her. The exhaustion of the day had made her very tired and he attended to her like she was infant. He put her in the bed and covered her up and, in seconds, she was in a deep and dreamless sleep.

She woke up in the morning to see the rain had come back. It was sleeping weather. The best kind of day to stay indoors and in bed. Her body ached. As though she had done a heavy workout. She felt at the swell of her abdomen as she turned over in bed.

"Good morning." Arthur said. He was in the bed next to her and still in his night clothes  
>"Your not going into the office today?" She asked feeling her throat dry.<p>

"No." Arthur told her. "Cobb and Eames are fine without me. I wanted to spend the day with my wife." He leaned over and gently kissed her lips. She remembered the events of last night and felt embarrassed.

"I'm sorry." She confessed "I don't know what I was thinking."

"It was a hard day for all of us." He confessed "I'm sorry to. Just seeing you with Braker... I just lost my mind." She shook her head

"I _never_ was with him. I don't know what happened when we were in Limbo, but I was never-" She started to explain

"I know." He told her "Were going to forget about it. We never have to think about it again." He said gently.

"What about Hector?" She asked. "How are we going to do this without the Australians?"

"We have a plan." The Point Man told her. She nodded.

"I felt the baby move last night." she said casually. He grinned.

"Really?" He asked. She nodded and gave him a weak smile.

"It felt like a butterfly." She laughed. He kissed her then. Not with his normal eager passion. A kiss that would not turn into something more, but a kiss of contented lovers, happy with what they had.


	43. Chapter 43

The Flight

~ "I just got a call from the Australians." Eames said a week later. They were all preparing for the morning meeting when The Forger came in.

"Braker, has gone off the reservation." He said. Arthur looked at Ariadne.

"What dose that mean?" The Architect asked.

"It means he's gone." Eames said. "Their Chemist called me and said Roy, their architect, was found dead this morning. Roy was on watch over Braker. They have evidence he left Australia for Thailand, after that, they don't know anything."  
>"In Thailand he turned right around and got on another flight, he could be anywhere by now." Arthur said standing up.<p>

"How do you know?" Delilah asked also standing.

"It's what I would do." Arthur replied going into the bedroom.

"Braker was trained in counter intelligence, like Arthur, he knows how to disappear. He knows how to travel under the radar." Eames explained

"Delilah," Cobb said in a calm voice to the Chemist "I need you to start packing our things and the Children's."

"What's going on?" Ariadne asked, the two women standing still.

"Were leaving." Arthur told her coming out with their always packed bags.

"Wait, why?" Delilah asked. "I mean, how do we know he's coming here?"

"His mind is gone." Ariadne said sadly. "He thinks that this world is not real."

"He thinks you _both_ have to wake up." Cobb finished putting a steady hand on the Architect.

~ A few hours later, they were gone as if they had never been in Tokyo. Cobb had picked up the Children from school, Saito and Yori elected to stay in Japan. Despite Cobb's warnings over Braker coming after them, the business man only chuckled.  
>"I am the kind of man that is very hard to come after." He told the Extractor. "Besides, we need to be here in case the rest of you get into trouble."<p>

**Rome, Italy. Two months later...**

~ Sybil was people watching at an outdoor cafe. She and the Team had flown all over Europe for the first few days. Never staying anywhere longer then one night, Arthur leading them from one place to another. They became nomadic and rootless. The had finally settled in the Eternal City.

The Team had chosen Rome simply because it was so densely populated. They blended easily with the locals and the tourists. Unlike Japan, they were easily lost in crowds of people. They were able to rent a large but modest home in the city limits without much fuss. The nature of the tourists in the area lent them a certain relaxed nature.

Cobb and Delilah decided to home school the Children so as not to draw attention, and so they could be safe. Ariadne was five months along now and really showing her condition. It was a hard truth that, soon enough, they would be on the run with a baby in tow.

"There you are Little One." Eames said coming up behind her. She was enjoying watching the mass of people that was everywhere in the city. He sat down a small espresso and muffin. She grinned.

"I was thinking we should see the Pantheon today." The Girl told him.  
>"You finish your homework?" Eames teased. Ariadne had been trying her best to create a curriculum for the Girl so she could at least finish high school. Sybil's intelligence was at, or above, genius level. She could do math and science with an ease that made it a joke to her. Even Ariadne couldn't keep pace with her.<p>

"It's Christmas break." Sybil said offended by the question.

"Not for us it's not." Eames laughed.

The Forger and the Girl got along well. It was a comfort in this strange life to be around someone so much like yourself, that you never had to explain things to. Who understood you only because they were so much like you. Eames had been the lonely child of parents who had divorced and remarried many times. He often thought of Sybil like a kid sister he had chosen for himself.

"Any word from the Australians?" She asked in a hushed voice.

"None since last week." Eames said looking at the crowds.

He watched the faces, the clothes, the hands. He watched if anyone was watching _him_. He was an expert in noticing things that didn't belong.

The Forger had made the Girl change her hair color yet again. It was now a dark chocolate brown and it looked very becoming on her. She now looked more like the locals. Ariadne had taken the time to teach Sybil to apply eye liner and shadow, 'the right way' and she soon lost the raccoon eyes she favored. With the casual clothes she now wore, her dark hair and eyes, she and Ariadne could now easily pass as sisters. When Cobb had commented on this, Arthur grumbled that they may have to.

~ Just because they were on the run, didn't give them an excuse to stop their work. The demand for dream extractions was still high and this was how the Team maintained a living. Mostly, it was Cobb, Arthur, Eames and Sybil (as the control) who went in for jobs. Although the PASIV was safe, Arthur didn't want to risk his unborn child.

Delilah stayed behind to attend to the Children. They would often have to leave for a few days to do a job that was not in Rome. To much work in the city would draw suspicion on them. In many ways, their lives had become almost, normal.

~ Down a rarely visited street stood a stone house. Three stories high and protected from the outside with tall walls and large a mid-evil looking gate. Inside a little court yard, mature tree leaves dappled sunlight over Ariadne. The Architect was building her mazes. She found that even though it was winter, Italy was still warm enough to work outside. Unlike Japan, Rome was warm and sunny most of the year. Ariadne and the Team had enjoyed the change in scenery. They all seemed to awaken here.

Their living space was cramped, Sybil had to share a room with Phillipa, only James and Eames had their own closet size room. But there was contentment here that was lacking in Japan. With everyone sequestrated in their own apartments, it was easy to feel isolated. The Team, all living under one roof, felt cozy. Like they had been in Morocco.

Every morning, Ariadne and Arthur would sit on the little balcony outside their small bedroom and watch all the people walking to tourist sights. The Team would eat a light breakfast and James and Phillipa would do there studies in the open court yard, all within their father's view, as the Team worked on various Extraction projects in the large living room. The house was typical Italian old world construction. Carefully placed thick stone walls with high ceilings and tall windows. Even a fresco painted on the dinning room wall. Like everything in Italy, the house was a wash of warm colors. It made the space very cherry and homey.

~ On the weekends, or right after a job, Cobb and Delilah would take the Children out to see museums or churches. Sybil usually wondered off alone or with Eames. Arthur and Ariadne normally had the house to themselves for hours. Those lazy Saturdays, they spent the whole time in bed together. He made love to her for hours. Not with the strong forceful passion he had before.

Her pregnancy had changed him. Perhaps it was a fear of hurting her and, by extension, the baby. She knew the reckless abandonment he had would return. Arthur was aroused at seeing her grow larger with his child. A male sense of pride at his accomplishment. Their time together alone was bliss. Their windows open to let in the air. The fear of being seen by neighbors, not cared about. He was always wanting her exposed to him. Wanting to see her naked body laying in his bed. Wanted to see her swollen breasts and growing belly. She blushed hotly at the memory. It was hard for Ariadne to believe that they were in hiding. This life was an easy thing to love.

~ Saito had provided them with aliases. They were always different people on paper since Yuseff's murder from Edwards assassins. It was easy to stay under Saito's protection from Edwards in Japan.

Braker was different. He was not interested in assembling a Team, or gaining information. He wanted to kill her. He wanted to wake her up.

~ Ariadne was putting the finishing touches on her model when Cobb came home. Eames and Sybil were right behind him. The rest of the Team as well as the Children were getting ready for dinner. The only heavy meal they would eat all day. She was about to gently scold them for taking so long when she saw their faces. Cobb wore a scowl and didn't want to look her in the eye. Eames and Sybil were casting worried looks at the Extractor.

Arthur and Delilah had come out into the courtyard, sensing that something had happened.

"What is it?" Ariadne asked.

"Edwards was shot and killed in his home in New York last night." Cobb told them. "I just talked to the Australians, they think it was Braker."

"Did they catch him?" Arthur asked. His voice was indifferent to the American Business Man. Cobb shook his head.

"Then how do they know it was Braker?" Ariadne asked.

"The operation of the attack is consistent with their training." Eames told them. "He also had a motive." The weight of the new information settled over the group, silencing them for a moment.

"So where do we go from here?" Arthur asked.

"We go after Hector." Cobb said. "Same as we planed. Arthur?"

"The information we _did_ extract from Edwards shows that Hector makes a trip to Dubai, India four times a year. He is due out there in March. They have outsourced labor there." The Point Man told him. "We can grab him and make the plant." Cobb nodded

"Ariadne?" He asked. The Architect nodded.

"Assuming that Hector's subconscious is militarized, I've designed three levels of mazes, the market for the first, Sybil's dream." The Girl nodded. Pleased to be going in instead of the Architect.

"I'm ready." Sybil piped up.

"The Second, a city for Arthur's dream. The last is a forest for you and Eames to take him down." Ariadne explained to the Extractor.

"Do we want to use the limbo compound?" Delilah asked.

"We don't want to get immune to it."Arthur told Cobb.

"We don't want to fall into Limbo either." Sybil said defensively.

"Braker used it four times before the Edwards extraction." Delilah added. "Also we have to take into account his exposure to the PASIV-4 that left him a vegetable for a few months. All that may have changed his brain to make the compound ineffective."

"We'll use the compound." Cobb said making the executive decision. "We can't risk falling into Limbo again."


	44. Chapter 44

Giving Up

"_What if our baby, comes in after nine?_

_What if your eyes, close before mine?"_

_Giving up, Ingrid Michaelson_

~ The news of Braker's actions on Edwards was sobering. It was something that could not be overlooked as self defense. Ariadne had always imagined Roy had been killed trying to stop Braker from leaving. She was sad to hear the Australian Architect had been murdered by his own teammate. Roy had always been so nice.

She had never thought Braker was capable of such things. He was always so bright and happy. He had been the one to keep her sane and helped bring her back when Cobol had kidnapped her. He had always been a friend and a comfort to her. More then Eames and Cobb even. He had been supportive of her relationship with Arthur, Even before they were a couple. After they had been saved from Cobol, they both had to spend a lot of time in the hospital. Braker had teased her about Arthur's attentions. That Eames and Cobb never stayed all night in the waiting room like the Point Man had.

Ariadne was thinking all of these thoughts as she turned over the camera Braker had given her when she decided to stay in Japan.

It was a Friday, in early March. The inception of Hector would take place in just a few weeks. Arthur and the rest of the Team had gone to Berlin for a job and would be back Monday. The Point Man hated to leave her while she was so heavily pregnant, but she had insisted. After all, she was not due for another month.

Sybil had suddenly become stubborn at the prospect of leaving Italy for Germany when there was so much action in the city right now. Rather then start an argument, Delilah had taken her place on the Job.

_Perhaps the Girl had sensed something the others did not._

~ An early heat had rolled into the city and the mobs of tourists did not make the trek to a small under-appreciated church easy. Despite being so far along, the Architect was tired of feeling cooked up in the house. She had respected Arthur's insistence that she remain safely ensconced in there own fortress. But the itch to see Rome's beauty was calling to her. Like Sirens to Odysseus.

Sybil had a hard time wrangling James around the streets. He was a typical 7 year old who found the city highly stimulating. The Girl was always chasing after him and pulling him back. Phillipa was much calmer and took the Architect's hand as they waded through the mass of people. Ariadne was glad to have the support as the weight of her pregnancy was becoming difficult for her to walk at times.

Inside the Catholic chapel, the outside world was shut out. God was respected in Rome, and his houses was treated with reverence. There were tourists inside, a few patrons as well. Ariadne gasped at the beauty of it.

"Wow." Sybil breathed out. "Now _this_ is impressive."

"I want to take a few pictures." Ariadne said looking around the at the highly decorated walls. There were statues of saints and stained glass that cast off colorful natural lighting. It was like something out of dream.

"I thought Arthur was Jewish." Sybil said her nose scrunched up. "Why are we here?"

"Because beauty can transcend religion." Ariadne told her simply. The Girl shrugged. Sybil took the Children to look at some of the art work as the Architect wandered over to the alter piece. The other visitors were admiring the shrines and small alters dedicated to the saints. The Blessed Virgin had caught her eye suddenly.

Her Grandfather had not been a religious man, but he loved to understand it. Like all mythologies, he taught her religion not as a duty, but as a subject. The Lady was dressed in blue and her face was the most beautiful rendering of the the Virgin Mary she had ever seen. She looked peaceful and serene. As if the knowledge of her son's fate was not upon her. Ariadne felt her own child kick.

The little intruder, as Eames had nick named it, had been moving a lot lately. It had made sleeping difficult most nights and she found herself wishing that he would make his appearance already.

Ariadne and Arthur had debated that it was a boy. They decided to keep the sex of the baby a surprise but there was always speculation. Arthur wanted a girl. His logic was girls were easier and always loved their Fathers. His only reference was Phillipa. But Ariadne had suddenly felt certain it was boy. It was just a feeling that came into her head and would not go away. Arthur insisted that she couldn't possibly know, which made Cobb laugh and shake his head. Mal had apparently accurately predicted the sex of both their Children. With over a month left to go before his arrival, the Team had done little more then attain basic supplies for their new addition. Ariadne was feeling frustrated that she and Arthur couldn't settle on a name for their son.

She snapped a photo of the statue's face. It was so peaceful here. The smell of burning candles, and incense. She looked up at the painted ceilings when a voice came from behind her.

"I think it might be a boy." Braker said. Ariadne stopped breathing. Her heart started to race. She slowly turned around to see the Australian Forger looking at her protruding belly. He nodded at her condition and smiled. "You carried Tomas the same way." He said casually.

Braker looked casual enough. His rugged good looks not phased by the months in hiding. Fighting his own demons.

"What..." She tried to say. She had to remind herself to breath. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sybil and the Children. In the mess of Tourists, the Girl had not noticed Baker. No one had. The two of them were alone at the other end of the church.

"What do you want?" She asked finally. She felt the baby inside her respond to her fear with a kick.

"Ariadne..." He started to say. He looked like he was about to deliver some bad news.

"You killed Roy." She accused him plainly. "You killed Edwards too, didn't you?"  
>"Yes." He said, His voice was remorseless. "I had to." She shook her head.<p>

"No... no you didn't." She said feeling her heart race. She clutched at her belly as her son kicked again.

"Ariadne..." He said, his hand moved behind his back to retrieve a gun. She took a deep breath.

"Braker. You don't have to do this. Please!" She told him putting her hands up. "Please, I'm pregnant. _Please,_ don't do this!"

Like a distant back ground noise came screams from the tourists. Screams of 'he's got a gun' and shouting at they fled the chapel like frighted animals. Ariadne looked for Sybil. The Girl had whispered something to Phillipa who took James's hand and ran away with the mass of tourists.

Ariadne nodded as she saw the Girl crouch down in the pews out of Braker's sight but still there for her friend. The Architect was shaking as she was virtually alone with the Australian Forger now.

"I'm sorry Ariadne. I know you think this world is real... but we have to get back." Braker said.

The bang that emitted from the gun was louder then she was expecting. The acoustics of the chapel carried the noise, turning it into a terrible beauty all it's own. Ariadne felt a sharp pain rip though her left shoulder. She knew she had been hit and the shock made her not even feel her body hitting the floor. She heard a scream that may have come from Sybil. The second shot seemed very far away. She couldn't feel that one and knew, deep down, Braker had taken his own life. He had woken himself up.

She was laying on her back as Sybil ran to her. The Girl was a mess of tears and fear.  
>"Ariadne!" She cried pressing down on the open bleeding wound.<p>

"It hurts!" The Architect cried out. A sharp pain ripped into her shoulder.  
>"That's good!" Sybil cried with a manic smile. "Means your not going into shock! Listen, just stay with the pain. Stay with the pain!" Ariadne looked up and saw the Blessed Virgin's statue. From the angle she was laying, it looked like the Lady dressed in blue was hovering over her. Her face kind and gentle. She suddenly felt calmer. As if a gentle force was there. For the first time in recent memory, Ariadne found herself praying. Pleading, to this Lady for help.<p>

"_Please,"_ She thought _"Protect my Son, Please. If I cant make it... that's okay. Please help my Son. You were a Mother, you know what it means. I don't care about myself. Please let my Son survive this." _

She had shut out Sybil's cries and screams as she felt her body start to grow cold. It didn't hurt anymore.


	45. Chapter 45

Broken

"_Darkness there, and nothing more."_

_Edgar Allen Poe, The Raven_

~ The worst thing. The very worst thing has happened. Sybil was sitting in the emergency room at a nearby hospital. James and Phillipa was sitting quietly by her side. Their small hands were wrapped inside hers. Blood was over her clothes. She had rushed to Ariadne's side after Braker shot himself. The memory of the Australian Forger dead in that chapel. His face gone. What was left, looked like hamburger meat. She shut her eyes trying to force that image out.

Ariadne was breathing hard as she lay on her back. Bright red blood coming from a large wound. Something inside Sybil's head had chimed a memory of applying pressure to the wound. The bright red blood was alright. As long as the blood was not dark red, no organs had been punctured. She watched as Ariadne turned very pale and became unresponsive.

The paramedics were quick to reach them. Sybil had not been able to go in the ambulance because she had to retrieve James and Phillipa. She didn't even wash the blood off as she took their hands, and the three of them walked to the Hospital.

The horror of it, was like a dream. No way this could be real. But deep down, Sybil knew this was all too real.

She noticed the blood on her hands for the first time. Blood, by contacting her, were on James and Phillipa. She hurried the pair of them into a nearby ladies room and scrubbed their small hands and fingers until James was crying out from the hot water and harsh washing the Girl gave him. Sybil noticed Ariadne's blood on her face and clothes in the mirror. She felt a panic at that. She wanted it off her body. She ran the tap as hot as it would go and shed her light summer jacket and top and scrubbed the blood off. Finally resorting to scratching her skin till it welled up in red splotches. Only then, could she cry. Sybil sank to the floor and wept as James and Phillipa crowed in her lap to comfort her.

~ In a Berlin hotel room, Arthur and the Team were holding up as they waited for their Mark to show up.

"Bloody Hell," Eames said flipping though the stations. "All the shows here are in German." Arthur wanted to laugh, but only cast Eames a annoyed look.

The Point Man's cell phone suddenly rang out Ariadne's ring tone. He picked it up quickly. He had been nervous about leaving her behind. He wanted to be there for every moment of her pregnancy and he felt cheated missing just a few days.

"Hey," He said casually "Are you okay?" Instead of the sweet voice of his wife, Sybil's hysterical voice boomed over the cell phone.

"Arthur! You have to come home now!" She cried.

"What's happened?" Arthur asked standing up. He felt his blood turn to ice. His heart stop beating right. Eames had snapped off the T.V. As he, Cobb and Delilah all realized something serious had happened.

"It's Braker!" Sybil cried. Her voice was high and trembling "He found us! Arthur... Please come home now!"

"Are your alright?" Arthur almost shouted at her. He couldn't hide the desperation in of his voice.

"No!" Sybil was in the full force of weeping. "He shot her! Braker shot Ariadne!"

Arthur felt his brain stop working. Cobb, sensing that the Point Man was not with him anymore, took the phone. The Extractor tried to calm Sybil down as he asked questions, where were they? Were his Children alright? Cobb told the Girl they would be there as soon as possible and to stay where she was. Without saying a word to the rest of his Team, Eames and Delilah had quickly gathered their bags and equipment to make a speedy exit out of Berlin.

~ Ariadne felt herself waking up. Like resurfacing from a body of water. Heavy and confusing. She tried to open her eyes, but they felt weighted down. Her breathing was slow. She kept telling her brain to wake up. She needed to wake up. She remembered the sound the gun shot made in that chapel. It echoed so beautifully. The sound of it was rich and powerful. Enough to wake the Gods of Mount Olympus.

She felt herself smile at the thought.

She suddenly remembered. She had been shot. Ariadne's eyes flew open. She was in an empty hospital room. It was fairly dark and she was hooked up to machines. She breathed in and out. Where was she? What happened? Her hand went to her belly. Nothing. Her baby was gone.

"Oh God!" She cried out suddenly "Help! Nurse Help!" A very hard pain stabbed at her shoulder making her gasp and tears of pain sprang to her eyes. An older woman, very matronly came into her little room.  
>"Signora?" The nurse said<p>

"Where's my baby?" She shouted. The Nurse nodded and came to stand by her.

"He's in our neonatal intensive care unit." She explained in a thick Italian accent. "One of the best Doctors was flown in all the way from Japan to attend to him." She continued, taking the Architect's pulse.

"He?... He's okay?" Ariadne breathed scarcely able to hope. The Nurse nodded.

"Your marito was here before but his fratelli talked him into going home. I believe your sorella is still around. She may have gone to get something to eat." She said. Ariadne had to think. To translate. Her husband? Arthur. His brothers? Had to be Eames and Cobb. The staff must have taken Sybil as her sister.

"What happened?" She asked the nurse.

"Oh Bambino." The Nurse said with a sincere look. "Some _lunitco_ came into the church and shot you. Then he shot himself. Thanks be to the Blessed Virgin that you and your baby were saved." The Nurse crossed herself quickly in prayer.

"Braker." Ariadne said softly. "How long have I been here?" She asked

"Four days." The Nurse said kindly. "You had to have emergency surgery, but all the saints were on your side." Ariadne nodded. She remembered her prayer then. The face of the Lady in blue looking up at her.  
>"I was looking up, after I was shot, at the statue of Mary. I think I... I felt her there. I prayed for her to help us." She confessed almost feeling silly.<br>"Si, and she came and helped you. That man was il Diavolo* in human form. But il Diavolo can not beat the Holy Mother." The Nurse patted Ariadne's hand and said with a smile. "I'll be right back." She said.

When the nurse was gone Ariadne had time to think about what had happened. The drugs she had been given made her feel groggy and she fought back sleep. The Nurse had come back by then. She was rolling an incubator with a tiny bundle in it, wrapped in a white blanket. The Architect gasped as she realized the was her son.

"Il piccolo miracolo*." The Nurse said. "You will be the first one, other then the nurses, to hold him. As it should be."

"Is... is he alright?" She asked fearing taking the baby out of the safely of the incubator would harm him. The nurse nodded.  
>"He is <em>very<em> strong. He has been wanting to meet his mother all this time." The Nurse handed the tiny baby to her.

Her words had been perfect. She _was_ meeting her son. He was tiny and wrinkled. His small, delicate hands framing his perfect, little face. Because of her wounds, she could only hold him with her right hand, but he was small enough for her to cradle him. She, with the nurses help, unwrapped him. She counted his toes and fingers, let his hand wrap around her finger. She noticed a small ID bracelet on his tiny ankle. It held a single name.

"Alexander?" Ariadne asked. The Nurse nodded.

"After Alexander the Great*. The great military leader. We give them these nicknames, in the NICU. Strong names. Hero's names. It makes them fight." The Nurse said as if modern medicine could not hold a candle to old world rituals and superstitions. Ariadne smiled as she wrapped him up again. He stirred in her arm and opened his deep brown eyes. Her heart leaped at the sight of him.  
>"Hello Alexander, I... I'm your Mom." She felt herself crying sweet tears of joy. "I'm so happy your here."<p>

~ Arthur had not been able to sleep. He had walked back to the hospital when Sybil had returned. The Girl telling them that Ariadne was still out. The baby still in isolation in the NICU. His family, his life, his home was on the edge of a knife. He could hardly stand to walk past the church where it had happened. It was the shortest way to the hospital and it still had police tape and a guard in front of it.

The tragic shooting was all over the news. A pregnant American girl had been shot by some deranged lunatic. A crime made all the more unthinkable by occurring in a church. Arthur had been glad to learn Braker was dead. His only regret was that he was not able to kill the Australian Forger himself.

He had arrived back in Rome just in time to see Ariadne rolled out of surgery. His son... his beautiful son... was taken from her body prematurely and put in an incubator. He had been forbidden to do little more then look at him through the barrier that kept the innocent life warm. He arrived at her room. His place was by her side. For better or worse, until she woke up. He was not expecting the vision before him as he opened her door.

~ Ariadne was sitting up in bed. Her cheeks and lips pink and red with healthy blood flow. In her good arm was cradled a tiny baby. His son.

"Hello." She said peacefully. As if he had just gone into another room and came back. He almost stopped breathing. She looked down at their baby. "Alexander... I want you to meet your father." She said to the moving bundle. Arthur felt he was moving in slow motion. The Nurse left the room as he went to stand by his family. Ariadne smiled at the Point Man as she handed him the perfect little being. His eyes were open and Arthur couldn't take his own eyes off him.

"My God." He said in a whisper. "He's beautiful." Ariadne nodded as if their love could produce nothing less.  
>"The nurse just brought him in." She told him.<p>

Arthur sat on the edge of her bed holding the baby. He was fearful he may not be holding him right. But Ariadne gave him a serene look that showed complete confidence in her husband.

"Are you alright?" He asked. She smiled.

"I'm fine." She told him. "I'm glad your here."

"I never should have left." He said humbly. "I'm _so_ sorry." She shook her head.  
>"It's over now." She whispered back touching Alexander's small face with her fingers. After a while, the Nurse appeared in the door frame.<p>

"I think he has to go back." Arthur said with an embarrassed smile. The Nurse put their precious child back in the incubator and returned him to the NICU.

~ Arthur and Ariadne talked for a long time. She told him about the chapel. Photographing it. Braker. The shooting. The sound that it made. How she had felt something come over her. The face of the Lady in blue. Her prayers. The Point Man listened intently and didn't say anything.

She soon felt the effect of the pain killers and started to fall asleep. Arthur curled up in the large hospital bed next to her as she fell asleep. Never willing to leave her side again.

~ In the morning, the Team arrived bright and early. Alexander was passed around and held. The special doctor Saito had flown in, told them the "little intruder" would be able to go home very soon.

Ariadne was still in pain from her gun shot wound. She could barely work her left arm and there was a great deal of bruising.

Arthur was on hand. Helping her to dress, for once, and Sybil refused to leave the Architect's side. It felt good to have so many people who cared about her in one room.

"According to Saito," Cobb was saying giving the baby to Sybil "Hector had sold off portions of his father's company. He is making a bid for Governor of New York." The extractor smiled. "It seems his platform will be to outlaw dream extractions."

"That's good news, he won't win. But it bought us at least one less bad guy." The Point Man said

"Ariadne," Eames said looking over Sybil's shoulder. "This is truly awful." The Forger pointed to Alexander "He looks _far_ to much like Arthur." Ariadne laughed as Arthur cast Eames an annoyed look.

"Where is Delilah?" Ariadne asked Cobb.  
>"She took the kids to a museum." The Extractor told her. "They don't allow young children in the maternity ward here." The Architect nodded<p>

"James and Phillipa must have been so scared after what happened." Ariadne said sadly. "I'm so sorry Cobb."

"Don't be." Cobb told him. "This was Braker's doing."

Ariadne nodded. She was filled suddenly with a happiness that made her very afraid. She looked at the camera bag she had with her when she had been shot. Sybil had taken the time to claim it before the ambulance took her away. Wincing in pain, she leaned over to pick it up. The Team was talking happily to each other. Sybil had passed the baby back to his father. Arthur held his beautiful son in his arms like a natural.

Ariadne was rooting around in her bag till she saw it. The heavy shinny rock she used as her totem. She started to pull in out of the bag, wanting to inspect it carefully to determine that she was truly awake. That she had a perfect baby, a loving husband and wonderful friends. Before she could even look at it, Alexander cried out.

"I think he wants you." Arthur said trying to hand her their son. Ariadne smiled and dropped the stone back in her bag. She happily embraced Alexander and looked at his face. Eames was right, he looked like Arthur.

She longer cared if this world was real or not.

***il Diavolo, The Devil, a fallen angel who tries to lure people into Hell**

***Il piccolo miracolo, The Little Miracle**

***Alexander the Great, Greek, Creator of one the largest empires in the ancient world before the age of thirty. **


	46. Chapter 46

The Chemist

"_If I had my way,_

_I'd burn this whole building down."_

_Samson and Delilah_

~ Delilah* had taken the Children to a museum in the city while the rest of the Team had gone to see Ariadne and the baby. It was the kind of special showing that kids were allowed to run off and explore. James and Phillipa never missed the Chemist as she wandered to a reclusive area.

Delilah cloistered herself in a small, quite area before pulling out the cell phone she had not used in over a year.

"The Architect is alive." She told the familiar voice on the line. Her accent had changed from American to a rough British cadence. "Gave birth to a healthy baby. She is everything we heard about and more. She is brilliant."

"The Extractor?" the voice asked.

"Fine, but not what were looking for."

"Forger?" the voice asked.

"He's adopted Sybil." Delilah said with a laugh.

"Jim's Sybil? Who worked for Cobol?"

"Yes." Delilah added "If we can bring her in, the Forger will follow."  
>"Sybil..." the voice sounded uneasy<p>

"She may be worth it, Sir. She has been a full member of the Team. She is very capable."

"Fine." The voice said "Bring them in. Their Point Man?"

"Negative." Delilah told him. "He will _never_ play ball."  
>"Very well, Bring the Architect, the Forger... and Sybil in." The Voice told her<p>

"The Extractor and Point Man?"

"Take them out." The voice said

"There is a Doctor Yori in Japan. She has done great things with bringing back people lost in dream extractions. Could be worth cultivating."

"That sounds fine. But she is not a priority."

"One more thing." Delilah told the phone "The Limbo compound we developed has a flaw."

"How so?"

"The man who shot the Architect, he was the Australian Forger. He had been exposed to the compound only few times. He _remembered_ Limbo."

"That's bad news." The voice said. "Bring them in quickly." Delilah nodded, the voice came back suddenly, "On second thought, try to bring the Extractor in as well. He is the ring leader of the Team right?"

"May I ask why, Sir?" Delilah asked.

Across an ocean in Los Angels, Robert Fischer was at the other end of the call.

"Time for him to answer some questions." The Young Businessman said.

* **Delilah, Hebrew, The woman who Samson loved and was his downfall. She seduced Samson to find out the secret to his strength. **


	47. Chapter 47

It's Never Just a Dream... Is it?

**Cobb**- The Extractor, pronounced phonetically, Kwab, it mean "dream" in several languages. His wife's name, Mal, is Latin for "Bad" like in **mal**content or **mal**icious.

**Arthur**- The Point Man, King Arthur was a brave knight of legend. Always putting his people before himself. Many myths have King Arthur in an enchanted sleep, where he will awaken when needed.

**Ariadne**- The Architect, The Mistress of the Maze in Greek mythology. Ariadne aided the hero, Theseus, to navigate the labyrinth

**Eames**- The Forger, named after a couple named Charles and Ray Eames who were notable architects.

**Saito**- The Businessman, Saito is the tenth most common name for a man in Japan. It appears in many Japanese folk lore.

**Sybil**- The Control/The Girl, The ancient Greek word Sibylla, meaning prophetess. There are many Sybils in ancient Greek myths.

**Delilah**- The Chemist, The goddess of black magic and witchcraft. Also of the crossroads. She is often interpreted as a death and vengeance goddess.

**Braker**- The Australian Forger, Broken. He was also called the Devil in the last story. The Devil being a angel who fell from grace and now spends all his time trying to lure people into hell. He may be dead in the waking world, but Mal was also dead and we saw how much trouble she caused.

**Robert Fischer**- The Young Businessman/ The Mark, Bobby Fischer was the great chess champion, known for his end game.

**Saint Cloud, France**

~ The Team had returned to where they started.

Arthur and Ariadne had brought their son home to the country where they had first met. Arthur had bought a large, comfortable home for his family in town close to Paris. This way, Ariadne could still go to the college in the great city, and have a house large enough that all of the Team could stay with them at once.

She had been unsure where her husband was taking them once they left Rome. But Arthur only smiled and allowed it to be a surprise. She had been very pleased by his taste in real estate. It was a charming home with seven bedrooms, set on a large plot of land. The Point Man had added a tall stone wall around the property with state of the art surveillance. All of which, were unseen by the untrained eye.

~ Alexander was a happy baby. He thrived, despite the tragic events of his early birth. His Mother was doting, his Father was proud. He had an extended family who would be there for him.

Seeing her son's face for the first time had give Ariadne the catharsis to wholly forget the children with no faces from Limbo. To forget their names. Seeing Alexander, she forgave Braker for everything. He had been lost in that world. He woke up still lost. She missed the friend he had been, and that was how she chose to remember him.

~ Sybil had decided to accept Ariadne's invitation to live with them and finish school in France. In the mornings, she was at school. In the evenings, she was home to help with the baby. She was on track to be a very young graduate at only sixteen. Saito had promised her that if she graduated with top honors, he would buy her whatever car she wanted and pay for her University.

The Girl accepted the Businessman's challenge. She wasn't sure what she wanted to study. Her talents were unlike anyone's in the Team.

As an unexpected consequence of Sybil staying with them, Eames was a frequent house guest. Ariadne put him up in her trendy Paris apartment since it had sat vacant for 3 years.

~ Saito and Yori had made the trip to Rome to see Ariadne and Arthur's son. Shin was already walking. Saito and Yori hadn't recognized Sybil at first and the Businessman was shocked to see the transformation of the Girl. Saito had Ariadne's sail boat "The Minotaur" especially shipped from Japan to a nearby French harbor as a congratulations gift on the birth of her son.

Cobb and Delilah returned with the children to the States. Delilah had made Cobb promise to return to France by Bastille Day* to see their friends again.

Those first four months after the birth of their son had been a happy time. The happiest time of Arthur's life.

**July 14th, Bastille Day. Saint Cloud, France**

~ It was idyllic community near Paris. Loaded with all the charm one expects of France. Cobb, Delilah and the children, had flown in privately from the States the day before, and Eames would be down later in the afternoon.

The storming of the Bastille was a holiday the French took very seriously. The French flag was draped over elegantly styled buildings and hoards of people had descended the county for the celebrations.

"Ariadne." Delilah said holding Alexander, her accent was back to American. "The house looks beautiful."

The Chemist was in the parlor of the large home that had recently been remodeled to exposed it's old world charm. From the kitchen, Ariadne and Sybil worked on the dinner they would have with their friends.

"Thank you. I couldn't believe Arthur bought a house for us without even asking me, but he did good." The Architect conceded.

She looked out the tall windows to see James and Phillipa playing contentedly in the back garden. She couldn't help but remember Cobb's dream of them. In almost the same positions, crouched down in the grass, their faces turned away.

Only they were real this time. They were growing up. Phillipa would be eleven soon and James would turn eight before Christmas. The Architect was sad suddenly that their Mother could not be here to see her children grow up. She felt sad also for the children, that they had lost their Mother. That they may not remember her one day. She sighed and was pleased that at least Cobb had found someone like Delilah to be in their lives.

"I thought Saito and Yori would be here." Delilah said placing Alexander in the stylish bassinet Ariadne kept in the parlor. The baby slept peacefully.

"I thought so to." Ariadne said sadly. "Saito had to work. He said he would call." A small ding went off and Sybil went to a tiny closet near the kitchen. She opened the door to reveal a series of small T.V. screens with black and white videos of the property. The intricate security system Arthur had installed.

"Eames is here." Sybil said buzzing the front gate for the Forger to drive up.

"Good." Delilah said with a smile.

~ The men had escaped from the women and children to Arthur's privet office. Why Arthur thought he needed an office Eames wasn't sure. It it was a pleasantly masculine room with comfortable furniture, a grand view and away from the noise.

Arthur had his collection of original paintings shipped all the way from his apartment in New York and adorned them in his office. His wife wouldn't allow them in the family friendly home. She claimed that post war art was too creepy.

"So how is Fatherhood?" Cobb asked the Point Man. Arthur had to laugh.

"Exhausting." He said. "But nice. Ariadne plans to return to school in the fall so I guess I'll have more time with him."

"Excellent, I'm sure our girl always wanted a house husband." Eames teased.

~ Outside the office, the men never heard Delilah dragging Sybil and Ariadne's unconscious bodies to the garage. She placed each woman in the luxury car Arthur owned.

She disabled the GPS tracking before going back inside for the Forger and Extractor. She reloaded the small tranquillizer gun with the sedative darts. Outside in the back garden, James and Phillipa still played. They had not seen the Chemist take out both women. Alexander slept silently in the bassinet. Delilah turned off the stove burners in the kitchen before she went in search of the men.

***Bastille Day, the storming of the French fortress and prison that is celebrated as the French Independence Day.**


	48. Chapter 48

The Beast

"_And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,"_

_ Yeats, 'The Second Coming'_

_ ~ "_Like lambs to the slaughter." That was how Arthur saw it afterwords. He had been totally unprepared for Delilah's attack. Every time he thought of it, a sick bile would rise in his throat. In the calm safety of his own home, surrounded by close friends, he never saw it coming.

The men had been talking amongst themselves for some time while awaiting the call to dinner.

"Bloody Hell," Eames had exclaimed "I'm starving. I'm going to see what's taking so long." After he left, the Extractor and Point Man talked for a while about Fatherhood and all it's... complications.

"Let me ask you something..." Arthur said to his long time friend. Without the Forger around, he knew he would be taken seriously.

"Shoot." Cobb said

"After the Phillipa was born, how long did it take you and Mal to... _be together_ again?" Arthur asked. Cobb chuckled involuntarily.

"I think it's different for everyone, Arthur." The Extractor told him. "It only took us a few months, but don't be mad at Ariadne if it takes her longer. She's been through a lot."

"I'm not the one pushing it." Arthur confessed.

Cobb muffled a smile behind his drink. The Point Man shook his head.

"The shooting, the surgery, not even mentioning the birth." Arthur sighed. "I'm _terrified_ of hurting her."

"Arthur, she knows her body better then you do." Cobb said in an older brother tone. "If she thinks she's ready, then she is." Cobb looked at his friend. "Is it the scars or something?" The Extractor asked. Arthur shook his head.

"No, we had a plastic surgeon come in while we were in Rome. The gun shot wound looks like nothing at all. The doctors who did the c-section did a good job." Arthur told him. He normally would not have cared about scars on her. He knew however, that the potential scar from the shooting would be like a brand. Each time he saw it, he would be reminded of what Braker had done. Ariadne had agreed. A top plastic surgeon was brought in, and a simple procedure was done. The Point Man sighed.

"I'm not sure what it is." He confessed.

"It'll come back to the both of you." Cobb assured him. "Having a newborn around doesn't exactly set the mood." Arthur chuckled.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Arthur called.

Delilah entered the room, a casual smile on her face.  
>"Dinner is almost ready." She told them.<p>

Something was off. Arthur wasn't sure what. His intuition was prickling him. Something had changed. He looked hard at Delilah. Her breathing was faster then normal, but only slightly. She had left the door open and he could hear nothing from the parlor or other rooms. No footfalls on the hard wood floors. No rattling of dishes. No talking. Nothing at all.

He saw Delilah's move before the Extractor, and was on her before Cobb had realized what was happening.

She had pulled a menacing looking firearm complete with silencer from a hidden back holster and fired.

All of Arthur's training kicked in as he grabbed her hand and pushed her arms away from her line of fire. The bullet missing him by seconds and inches as it cut a deep and silent gash in the nearby bookcase. Cobb was on his feet as Arthur tried to pull Delilah down. She was suddenly strong and skilled.

She quickly freed herself from the Point Man and hit him with the butt of her gun. Arthur felt his nose break and his vision blur. The pain made him fall back as he heard Cobb shouting and sounds of a fight. Arthur willed himself up in time to see Delilah shoot the Extractor.

She was about to raise the deadly weapon again when Arthur attacked. He was not prepared for how well trained she was. Better then him. Her movements were fluid and graceful. Their fight felt more like a dance. He had managed to knock her down momentarily when thoughts of the others in the house gave him pause.

There was a reason the house was quite. The knowledge that they may be dead pounded in his brain as Delilah attacked him again. She shot two more times. The silencer casting a hiss and pop as it's bullets made contact with the wall. She was between him and the desk where he kept his spare fire arm.

He had no choice but to leave the Extractor an get to another weapon he had stashed. It was a short run to the security closet where he had hidden another gun.

The parlor was empty. He could not help but stop and see his son, safe and sleeping in the bassinet. James and Phillipa were still outside. Oblivious to the turmoil in the house. He had barely freed his weapon when Delilah was there, like a terrible demon. She shot again and missed.

This time Arthur was ready.

He raised his weapon and shot. A loud bang emitted in the still afternoon air. A puff of pink flew off The Chemist's arm, making her stop her attack. She clutched her arm and almost dropped her weapon. Before he had time to shoot, another bang come from his office.

Cobb had managed to get up and defend himself from his former lover's attack. The second shot only clipped the deadly woman.

Delilah fled. She was fast. Faster then anyone could have guessed. Alexander was awake now from the noise and started screaming. James and Phillipa had heard the shots as well and, instinctively, had run out of the back garden to a neighbor. It was this pause, while Arthur checked on their charges, Delilah was able to get away.

In Arthur's own car, she pulled roughly out of the drive. Arthur gave chase on foot. He was about to raise his weapon again when he saw the passengers. Ariadne and Sybil were in the back. Eames in the passenger side. All of them looking like they were sleeping. He lowered his weapon, Delilah sped off, too fast for him to give chase. Police sirens were in the distance.

Arthur ran back into the house. Cobb was slumped in the hall. He was pale and bleeding heavily. Alexander was still screaming loudly.

'_The baby has to wait._' His mind told him. He had to attend to Cobb's very serious wounds. From a first aide kit, the Point Man cut away the Extractor's shirt and pressed a firm hold on Cobb's wound. The Extractor winced in pain.

"What happened?" Cobb asked

"Delilah took them." Arthur replied. "Ariadne, Eames, even Sybil."

"Oh God." Cobb breathed. "What have I done?"

Arthur said nothing as he continued the pressure. His son screamed angrily from the parlor as the Point Man and Extractor awaited the sirens to finally reach them.


	49. Chapter 49

Karma & Gravity

"_Like gravity, Karma is so basic we often don't even notice it." _

_Sakyong Mipham_

~ "Darling?" Came Eames' voice. Ariadne snapped awake. Her body hurt. A subtle pain where Braker had shot her, that was present only after a hard sleep. She felt uncomfortable.

What had happened?

She was sitting in a chair. Her hands were bound with hospital restraints in front of her. The restraints lashed to the floor. She looked to her right. Eames was awake and in the same predicament. He grinned at her.

"I just want one summer where I'm not kidnapped and chained up by some woman." He teased. The gentle joke made Ariadne pause.

She looked to her left at Sybil. The Girl was starting to wake up as well.

"What happened?" The Architect asked.  
>"Not sure." Eames said softly. His voice now serious. "Last I remember I was out looking for you."<p>

"It was Delilah." Sybil said surfacing from her sleep. "She shot you, then me."

"What?" Ariadne breathed out.

She couldn't believe this. Delilah had been with the Team for over a year now. They trusted her.  
>"Are you sure Little One?" Eames asked<p>

"I guess we'll know for sure in a while." Sybil retorted. "I told you we couldn't trust her."

"Cobb said we could." Ariadne said defensively

"He trusted Mal once to." Eames added.

Ariadne shook her head. Delilah was at her wedding, she had shared their dreams as well as their lives. That woman held her son. Looked after Cobb's children.

"How...?" She started to ask when the clang of a heavy metal door opened. A well dressed young man casually stepped into the light.

He had a fine, graceful manner. His body language gave away the fact he was unaccustomed to being around people. He stood well away from Ariadne and the others, but also away from Delilah who followed him.

"_Succubus_*." Eames growled when he saw her.

"I think you know who I am." Robert Fischer said plainly. The young businessman adjusted his finely tailored suit. A nervous trait.

"Sorry, Mate." Eames said casually "Not a clue." Ariadne took the Forger's lead and shook her head.

"I've never seen you weak ass in my life." Sybil said in a catty tone only a teenage girl can pull off.

"I can believe that last part." Fischer said pointing to Sybil. "More importantly though is why I called you here."

The young businessman quickly took a chair across from his 'guests'. He sighed and looked at each of them.

"I had you brought here because I want to know, _exactly_, what you did to me."

"What are you talking about?" Ariadne asked in a small voice.

"You know what I'm talking about." Fischer said. His voice was suddenly harsh. "You and your team were hired to perform dream extractions on me and who knows what else. You are here to tell me what you did."

"Your confused." Eames said looking bored. Fischer nodded and looked over his shoulder. Delilah came up behind him. Passing him some photos.  
>"Over three years ago my Father, Maurice Fischer, passed away. I was accompanying his body to L.A. from Sydney." He showed them sharp black and white photos.<p>

Ariadne tried to keep her face neutral. It was them, all of them who went on the Fischer Inception. She saw herself, in a white jacket at Customs. Cobb, Arthur, Eames, Saito... Yuseff. It felt like a lifetime ago. Fischer waited for them to respond.

"It's just a coincidence that you were all on the same flight?" Fischer asked.

"I take flights all the time." Eames said with a shrug.  
>"That's true." Fischer said taking a folder from Delilah. "Past few years you and your companions have flown all over the world. Japan, Amsterdam, New York, and Rome. All with in the last year."<p>

He looked over the folder some more. Judging them. He flicked his eyes over Ariadne.

"Now you, were a graduate student in Architecture at the International College in Paris. When suddenly, you dropped out. Why?"

"I was kidnapped." She said plainly. "Happens to American girls all the time in Europe. I would rather not talk about it."

"I see." Fischer said. "And you popped up back on the grid in Japan a few months later. Living at the same address in Tokyo as three of the seven people who were on a first class flight to L.A.?" Ariadne didn't answer.

Delilah had provided the young businessman with all the information he needed. She wasn't going to help him.

"So what?" Fischer said mockingly "Did you all meet on the plane or something? Decide to keep in touch?" He laughed at his own joke. Robert Fischer was a far cry from what he once was. Gone was the soft spoken, spoiled, rich man's son. If anything, his manners now resembled Saito.

"You brought us here to show us some photos from over three years ago?" Eames said rolling his eyes. "Well, whatever gets you off."

Fischer smiled. It wasn't a nice smile.

"I brought you here because that day, on the plane, I fell asleep. When I woke up, I felt different. I felt like something had changed in me."

He ran his slender well manicured hands over the breast of his suit.

"I know you and your team performed dream inception on me. I want to know what idea you planted in my mind."

"Inception?" Ariadne asked. Fischer gave her a hard look.

"Yes, what you and you husband have been doing for the past three years now." He said coldly. "You are the Architect... you build the dreams. Your husband and his friends break into someone's mind and steals information from them. Or they plant ideas in their minds."

He sighed looking though his folder again.

"Must be a lucrative family business." He continued. "The two of you traveled the world for a year. You pick up and moved often. After the birth of your son, _Alexander_," He put particular emphasis on her son's name. It gave Ariadne a chill "You bought a 4 million dollar home in Saint Cloud, France."

"You guys paid _how much_ for that house?" Sybil suddenly piped up. Breaking the tension and with it, Fischer's hold on them. The Girl looked at the Forger "They don't even have a pool. You guys got ripped off."

"Or satellite T.V." Eames nodded agreeing with the her.

Ariadne felt herself start to breath normally again. Robert Fischer had no control over them. They had information he wanted and they were not going to play ball. Sybil and Eames had taken all of Robert Fischer's power away.

"Saint Cloud is very pricey." Ariadne said feeling her voice return to normal. "Owning property in Europe is expensive."

"Can I have a pony?" Sybil asked peevishly.

"Can I have a Russian Bride?" Eames asked in a wheedling tone that mimicked Sybil's exactly

"I'll name her Sugar and I promise I'll feed her, water her and I'll ride her everyday." Sybil said imploringly.

"Ditto." Eames chimed in.

Ariadne only got out a brief laugh as Delilah suddenly swung a chair at Sybil's face. The heavy office furniture made contact with the Girl making a loud whack, causing her to start bleeding profusely.

Ariadne was so shocked she could only state at Sybil's now broken face. The Girl slumped over in the seat she was tied to, whimpering.

"Now!" Eames yelled. His voice and face a level Ariadne had never seen on him before. "If your looking for someone to rumble with, you can start with me!"

Indifferently, Delilah lifted the chair again and brought it over the Forger's head and face with a loud clang.

Eames spat blood and Ariadne gasped at seeing the large gash on the left side of his face. He and Sybil were both breathing hard. Ariadne looked at Delilah then. She believed it. Delilah had betrayed them.

"Do _you_ have something else to add?" The Chemist asked her coldly. She had the chair in her hand once more and was prepared to strike the Architect with it.

"Did you kill my husband?" She asked boldly. "My son?"

Delilah gave no response to this. No flicker in the eye of remorse or recognition. She was like a robot.

"Cobb trusted you. He allowed you into our lives. He trusted you with his Children." Ariadne accused.

"It was apart of my undercover. I needed to get close to you, learn your secrets." Delilah explained.

"Did that include being Cobb's mattress monkey*?" Eames breathed out. His eye was swollen shut and blood was pouring freely from him. Delilah raised the chair again, ready to hit him.

"Stop." Fischer said softly. Delilah stopped her attack before she could reach the Forger. "We'll never get answers from him if you kill him."

Eames laughed.

"Oh pretty gun for hire." He said spitting out more blood. Ariadne turned to Sybil who was crying softly. "Tell me, is she keeping your bed warm too, Darling?" Eames asked Fisher.

Ariadne knew what he was doing. Distracting Fisher and Delilah. Forcing their attention on him so that the two women would be left alone.

Delilah sensed his plan as well, She raised the chair up and brought it down on the Architect's head. She felt the jolt of it. It felt like her skull had detached from her spine. She saw blackness as she fell into a dreamless void.

~ "Take them to the guest rooms we have ready." Delilah told the security guards once she and Fisher had left the room.

"I thought I told you I wanted their extractor, Cobb, as well." The young businessman said running his careful hands over his suit. Attempting to brush off the unpleasantness he just witnessed.

"Three out of four is not bad." Delilah said evenly. "I had their Point Man to contend with remember. He is... formidable. I had been shot, twice."

"Flesh wounds." He said rolling his eyes. "How do you plan to get them to work for us now?" Fischer asked her.

He crossed his hands over his neatly tailored suit. Delilah shook her head. She was wiping the blood off her own hands with an embroidered handkerchief.

"We don't need to convince _them_." She told them "We only have to convince one. Then allow that one to convince her friends."

"What do you mean?" Fischer asked.

She smiled.

"The Girl. Sybil. You saw him, he protected her. Put her in danger, she can convince him, and then Ariadne to work with us as well. Sybil, can get the Forger and the Architect to tell you _all_ their secrets." Delilah explained calmly. "We don't need to threaten all of them, only her."

Delilah turned around and gracefully walked away.

_*Succubus: A demon who takes the form of a woman and seduces a man only to steal his life force. A Succubus would often appear in dreams. _

_*Mattress Monkey: I couldn't think of a rude but PG way to say that Delilah was sleeping with Cobb. I think Mattress Monkey works well, and it's something Eames would say. _


	50. Chapter 50

Don't Think About Elephants

"_You can flee with your wounds just in time,_

_Or lie there as he feeds._

_Watching yourself ripped to shreds,_

_Laughing as you bleed._

_So for those of you falling in love,_

_Keep it kind. Keep it good. Keep it right._

_Throw yourself in the midst of danger,_

_But keep one eye open at night."_

_Rachael Yamagata, Elephants_

~ Darkness has fallen on the charming little home. The Police and paramedics had brazenly parked their euro vehicles all over the front grass. The house was lit up as Police rudely trespassed through each room. Exploring the lives of the Americans who lived there.

"Just pop it back in." Arthur told the paramedic.

She was assessing his still throbbing nose. She had managed to clean up his face but refused to fix the brake.

"We need to go to the hospital, Monsieur." The young woman said.

"Just pop it back in." The Point Man told her curtly.

"Let me see." came the voice of one of the detectives. He was a kindly looking man. In his mid fifties. Arthur remained seated as he gently and with clever, careful hands, pulled and popped the broken nose back into place. Arthur winced hard and wiped away a fresh stream of blood. His nose already felt better.

"Thank you." the Point Man said.

The nice little man smiled and looked at him.

"You may not recall, Monsieur." He said "We have spoken before. The first time the young lady was taken."

Recognition dawned on the Point Man. This was the congenial little police office from Ariadne's apartment in Paris. He had been the one to tell Arthur about Ariadne being stolen by Cobol. He had met the man only once, but he was glad to see him again.

"Yes, I remember." The Point Man said. "Your a Detective now." He stated.

The little man nodded and gave a shrug.

"You stay any place long enough, they promote you. Detective Astucieux*." He said offering his hand to Arthur.

The Point Man shook it, and the detective began his casual questions.

"The Lady is your wife now?"

"Yes." Arthur told him  
>"And you have the babe as well." He added writing it down in a small little notebook.<p>

Arthur nodded at the Paramedic who rocking his son with capable hands.

"The people who took her last time, do you think they could be involved?" The Detective asked.

"I don't think so." Arthur told him honestly.

"Who took her last time?" The Detective asked.

"An old boyfriend." Arthur said believably.

~ Cobb was awaiting the paramedics to take him to the hospital. His vitals were good and the bleeding was under control. Delilah had not intend to kill him. Her precise shot was meant to only wound. Still, he looked like a broken man. His face was drawn and gray. Arthur leaped to his feet and went to his friends side

"I'm so sorry Arthur." Cobb said sadly. "I brought this down on us."

Arthur shook his head

"We can't worry about that now, Dom." The Point Man told his friend.

Arthur never used the Extractor's first name.

"Listen, James and Phillipa are fine. Your gonna get out in a few hours and be back here." Arthur said.

Cobb didn't seem to even be listening. The Extractor was rolled away to a waiting ambulance. Arthur had only seen Cobb like this once before, after Mal's death.

Now was not the time to lose the Extractor. Arthur knew he couldn't do this alone. Saito and Yori were on their way in from Japan but they were still ten hours away. Detective Astucieux guided the Point Man back into the Parlor to ask more questions.

"Monsieur, you said you knew the woman responsible?" The Detective asked.

"Yes, her name was Delilah. She was a former employee of Cobol engineering." Arthur told him. With the Police arriving so quickly, Arthur and Cobb knew there was some things they could not hide. The men never breathed a word of dream extractions as they were questioned.

"A woman, acting alone, took three people against their will and fought the both of you?" Astucieux asked, looking doubtful.

"She was armed." Arthur told him feeling the guilt sharply over Delilah's preemptive attack. "She shot my friend and she shot at me, and my son... MY SON WAS FOUR FEET AWAY!" He suddenly found himself yelling.

The fact that Alexander was in the room at the time of the shooting gave new weight to the situation. Delilah had touched on something sacred.

Astucieux raised his hands up in surrender, trying to calm the Point Man down. Attempting to sympathize with the full horror of what was happening.

"Monsieur, we can do nothing if you do not help us." The Detective told him "Do you have any idea, any idea at all where she may have taken them?"

"No." Arthur told him trying to calm down.

"You say, along with your wife a Mr. Eames was taken. He is a friend?"

"Coworker, and yes, a friend." Arthur told him. The Detective looked around the fine home.  
>"What is it exactly do you do for a living, Monsieur?" Astucieux asked.<p>

Arthur sighed deeply. He didn't want to answer questions. He wanted to hunt down Delilah and bring his wife home.

"I work in international information retrieval and trade for global fortune 500 companies." The Point Man said.

Astucieux looked at him. Processing the information. Not understanding that Arthur had actually told him the truth about his profession.

"And this teenage girl, who was living with you and your wife." The Detective asked

"Sybil." Arthur told him. "My wife's younger sister." Astucieux nodded and wrote down the girls name.

"We were not able to find any relatives of lady when she went missing the first time." The Detective commented.

"Sybil was in boarding school, in the States." Arthur lied easily.

The Detective nodded. He waited patiently for Arthur to add more information. Arthur didn't take the bait. He was grateful that Saito had used his power to create fake ID's for Sybil. Having Sybil pose as a relative of a Team member made things much... neater.

"Monsieur, is there some place you can go with the babe tonight? Some place you can take the two young Children?" The Detective asked.  
>"I can get a hotel." Arthur said sadly. Astucieux nodded.<p>

"I'm so sorry for what has happened Monsieur, we will do everything we can to get the Lady back." Arthur believed him. The kindly little man had sympathy for the young family.

~ In a refined hotel suit in Paris, Arthur watched dawn break over the city of lights. He had not been able to sleep.

James and Phillipa were sleeping peacefully in the next room. The events of the day had worn their spirits out. It disturbed Arthur that they heard the gun shots. He was grateful that Phillipa had taken herself and her brother away. Still, all the violence over the past year they had been witness to. All the sudden moves. It could not be good for them.

Alexander was sleeping a peaceful sleep in a travel crib next to the king sized bed. It felt odd to be suddenly responsible for so many young lives. He had relied on the strong network of the Team in the past. With Cobb in the hospital, and Saito still in the air, it all fell on him. He looked at his son sleeping. He now understood Cobb's intense need to get back to his own Children. They were all the Extractor had left of Mal. Just like right now, Alexander was all the Point Man had left of the Architect. A powerful instinctual pull made him cherish their baby even more.

Arthur closed his eyes and tried to sleep. He needed to sleep. Saito and Yori were landing in five hours. He would meet them at the hospital. His thoughts were on his wife. He wanted to touch her. Her skin, so soft and yielding under his hands. Her lips, being claimed by his own, surrendering.

_A few days ago..._

~ She had just put Alexander back to bed from his late night feeding. They had not taken turns simply because she always popped out of bed before he had a chance to. She quickly changed the baby and brought him into their room for his feeding. Because of the shooting and subsequent pain medications, she had not been able to breast feed him. It was something she had been upset about, but they shared in the bonding that came with both being able to feed their son without worry.

She had put the baby back to bed and came back, climbing in bed next to Arthur. She molded her body around his, kissed him. She kissed him again, pulling him on top of her, and he melted to her. Her hips rolling up to meet his own as he gave into her with ease.

He stopped.

"What is it?" Ariadne asked

"I don't want to hurt you." He had said.

She smiled and pulled his mouth down on hers.

"You wont." She said.

They kissed hotly for a long time, him fighting his own arousal. Motherhood had made her so beautiful, Her breast were still swollen. Her body, much softer to his touch. Still, they had not made love since the birth of their son. She had almost died a few months ago, her body might brake under the intensity.

There were things he desperately wanted to do to her. Things he would have done to her if she were not the mother of his son. He wanted to hold her body down, claim her, bring her to climax under his power. He was ashamed to admit that he wanted to treat his wife like a whore in their bed. He had not interest in 'making love', he only wanted a savage physical part himself with her. All of these things, he couldn't do to the woman who had born his child. There was something sacred and pure about her now.

It was bliss and agony all at once.

"I'm healed now." She told him, kissing his neck. Her hot breath on him, making it harder to resist her.  
>"I just... with the shooting... I..." He had stammered. "The baby being born." He tried to explain<p>

"You don't find me attractive anymore?" She asked sadly. "Because of the baby? Because of the shooting?"

"No." He tried to assure her quickly. The scares were barely noticeable. The surgeon who delivered Alexander had done a very good job. Her body had easily recovered from the ordeal. The plastic surgeon had expertly concealed the gun shot wound to nothing more then an angry red line that would soon vanish.

Not believing him, she turned her back to him. He tried to explain, but she wouldn't listen. He knew she had cried a little then. He tried to hold her in his arms, to be a husband to her. To be a man with her, but the pain he had caused that night had hurt her deeply.

~ Alexander cooed softly in his sleep and brought his father back around from his painful memory. Ever attentive, the Point Man waited to see if the baby would wake. He made a promise to his son then, he would bring his mother home.

~ In the morning, Saito and Yori arrived. They met Arthur at the hotel and the Doctor had brought with her not only Shin but Shin's nanny. The women quickly took charge of the children, Arthur was relived to have someone he trusted around him and his son again.

Saito and the Point Man left them at the hotel while they went to pick Cobb up from the hospital.

~ Cobb's wound was not mortal. But Delilah's betrayal had hurt him more then any bullet would have. The Extractor was ready to leave as soon as his now broken team arrived.

"Any leads?" Cobb asked walking under his own power out to the waiting car.  
>"None." Arthur told him. The Point Man explained about Detective Astucieux.<p>

"I have my own security on them as well." Saito said "We found her once, we will find her again." The Businessman told Arthur.

"We need to call in the Australians." Cobb told them

"No." Arthur said his eyes widening.

What was Cobb thinking?  
>"The Australians are our best allies." Cobb explained "Delilah..." He paused at her name. "What she did, she did to them to. Braker lost his mind because of her compound."<p>

"Cobb, no." Arthur told his friend. The Extractor turned on the Point Man then.

"I brought this woman into our lives. She shared my home, my bed. I trusted her with my children. This is _my_ fault."

"Mr. Cobb?" Saito said tonelessly "We do not have the luxury of blame." Arthur nodded.

"We can't fall apart now." He agreed.

_*Astucieux: A French word for clever_


End file.
